India on Friday recorded 36,571 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 3,23,58,829 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. The number of cases was 0.46% higher than Thursday’s count of 36,401 infections.

The country’s toll rose to 4,33,589 with 540 more deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, while the number of active cases declined by 524 to 3,63,605.

(Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare)

Other updates

  •  Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday said that results of an ongoing research for development of Covid-19 jabs for children may arrive next month and the vaccine may be launched “very soon”, PTI reported.
  • The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has said that they aim to make the Telangana capital a “100% Covid-19 vaccinated city” in the next 15 days, PTI reported.
  • The Delhi government has directed schools in the city to ensure that students who have lost both or one of their parents due to the pandemic since March 2020, should be offered free education, PTI reported.

Global updates

  • Covid-19 hospitalisations of those aged under 50 in the United States have reached its highest levels since the the start of the pandemic last year, The Guardian reported.
  • New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has extended the nationwide lockdown till Tuesday saying the full extent of the Delta outbreak in the country was still unknown, Reuters reported. Earlier this week, New Zealand reported its first case since January.
  • Globally, Covid-19 has infected more than 20.99 crore people and led to over 44.01 lakh deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.