India on Thursday morning registered 43,263 coronavirus cases, pushing the infection tally in the country to 3,31,39981 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. The new cases were 14.2% higher than Wednesday’s count of 37,875 cases.

With 338 deaths, the toll in the country rose to 4,41,749. The number of active cases currents stands at 3,93,614, and the caseload increased by 2,358 in the past day. So far, 3,23,04,618 patients have recovered from the infection.

The total number of vaccine doses administered in India since the beginning of the inoculation drive in January went up to 71,65,97,428. On Wednesday alone, health workers in the country administered 86,51,701 doses.

Other updates

  • The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday upheld the restrictions to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi festival in public places, while allowing the petitioner to install an idol of the Hindu deity at his home with a permitted gathering of five people, reported the Hindustan Times. 
  • The Telangana government will hold a trial run of delivering medicines and vaccines using drones on Thursday, reported the Hindustan Times. It is a part of state government’s ambitious “Medicine From The Sky” project.
  • Videos showed hundreds of passengers jostling and not maintaining physical distancing at the Chennai International Airport on Wednesday, reported NDTV. The incident happened after at least two flights from the Gulf region arrived around the same time.

Global updates

  • An analysis of a carnival celebration in Germany has found that airborne viruses recycled through a low-grade ventilation system likely created the coutnry’s first super-spreader Covid-19 event, reported The Guardian. The event held at the town hall of a municipality, Gangelt, was labelled “Germany’s Wuhan” after it drove a major outbreak in the western state of North-Rhine Westphalia last year.
  • A Florida judge ruled that the state cannot enforce a ban on public schools mandating the use of masks against the coronavirus, reported The Guardian. An appeals court is looking whether the ban is ultimately legal.
  • Globally, Covid-19 has infected more than 22.25 crore people and led to over 45.95 lakh deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in December 2019, according to John Hopkins University.