India on Sunday recorded 42,766 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the cumulative tally of infections since the outbreak of the pandemic in January last year to 3,29,88,673. The new cases were 0.34% higher than Saturday’s count of 42,618 infections.

The toll in the country rose to 4,40,533 as 308 deaths were recorded in last day. The number of active cases stood at 4,10,048, while the number of recoveries was 3,21,38,092.

Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

The total number of vaccine doses administered in India since the beginning of the inoculation drive in January went up to 68,46,69,521. On Saturday alone, health workers in the country administered over 71 lakh doses.

On Saturday, the Centre had asked 11 states and Union Territories to immediately increase the rate at which they were administering the first dose to beneficiaries above 18.

The government said that in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya, the coverage of the 60-plus group was unsatisfactory. It directed the states to address the problem.

Global updates

  1. New Zealand on Saturday recorded its first Covid-19 death in six months, AFP reported. The patient, who was in her 90s, had comorbidities and could not get intensive care or a ventilator in Auckland.
  2. Australian state Victoria registered 183 new cases on Sunday, according to Reuters. The state now has 1,417 active cases.
  3. Philippines lifted its travel ban on India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Oman Malaysia and Indonesia, PTI reported. International travelers need to adhere to the country’s quarantine and testing rules.
  4. Brazil stopped the usage of more than 1.2 crore doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech as they were manufactured in an unauthorised plant, Reuters reported.
  5. Globally, Covid-19 has infected more than 22 crore people and led to over 45 lakh deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in December 2019, according to John Hopkins University.