India on Monday recorded 42,909 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the country’s total cases to 3,27,37,939 since the pandemic broke out in January last year, government data showed. The new cases are 4.8% lower than Sunday’s count of 45,083 infections.

The toll rose by 380 to 4,38,210. The active caseload rose to 3,76,324. As many as 3,19,23,405 people have recovered from the disease so far.

In Kerala, where the infections have surged after Onam, the state government reported 29,836 cases on Sunday. With this, the cumulative tally rose of infections rose to 40,07,408. The state’s test positivity rate, which is the percentage of people who test positive for the virus out of those who have been tested overall, jumped to 19.67%.

The numbers of patients on ventilator support also increased from 883 to 915 on Sunday. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called a meeting on September 1 to assess the ground situation. The meeting would include top virologists, public health experts and administrators.

A night curfew in the state will come into effect from 10 pm to 6 am on Monday. The police in Thiruvananthapuram district said non essential travel will not be allowed during this time, The Hindu reported. Those engaged in essential services have been asked to carry their identity cards with them.

Credit: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Other updates

  1. Eighteen residents of a children’s home in Mumbai’s Mankhurd area have tested positive for Covid-19, reported The Indian Express. The children who have contracted the infection have been shifted to a Covid-19 care centre in Navi Mumbai’s Vashi locality. The city’s civic body, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, said that all the children are in a stable condition.
  2. Uttar Pradesh has eased restrictions in the existing night curfew rules across the state on Monday and Tuesday due to the Janmashtami festival, according to a report by Live Hindustan. The state’s additional chief secretary (home), Awanish Awasthy, said Janmashtami programmes will be exempted from rules on attendance limit and night curfew. As per the rules, the night curfew is in place from 10 pm to 6 am.
  3. The Maharashtra government is planning to fully vaccinate all teaching and non-teaching staff in schools by September 5, PTI quoted state Health Minister Rajesh Tope as saying. The minister said this would be the first step towards reopening of schools.
  4. The Covid-19 vaccination drive was not conducted in Gujarat on Sunday, and will also be suspended on Monday on account of festivals, PTI quoted a press release by the state government. 

Global updates

  1. New Zealand has recorded its first death that was linked to Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, reported Reuters. The declaration was made by the country’s health minister after a review by an independent vaccine safety monitoring board.
  2. The Israel government on Sunday opened up access to a third vaccine against the coronavirus to anyone aged over 12 years, reported AFP. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said this would be an effective way to contain the spread of the virus.
  3. Many hospitals in the United States’ Florida, South Carolina, Texas and Louisiana are dealing with oxygen shortages, CNN reported. The channel quoted health officials and hospital consultants as saying that some hospitals may have to use their reserve supply or may run out of oxygen imminently.
  4. Covid-19 has infected more than 21.63 crore people and led to over 45 lakh deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.