Here are the top updates from Thursday:

  1. NITI Aayog member (Health) VK Paul said that vaccination of children was not a requirement for reopening schools, and claimed that no scientific body or evidence had suggested it. Paul also cited low mortality due to Covid-19 among children and a high-incidence of asymptomatic infection among them.
  2. India registered 43,263 new coronavirus cases, pushing the infection tally in the country to 3,31,39981 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. With 338 deaths, the toll in the country rose to 4,41,749. The number of active cases stood at 3,93,614.
  3. The Centre said that one dose of the coronavirus vaccine has proved to be 96.6% effective in preventing deaths while two shots provide 97.5% efficacy against fatality due to the infection. The figures were presented by Indian Council of Medical Research chief Balram Bhargava.
  4. The Centre said that 58% of India’s adult population has received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine while 18% of them have received both the jabs, PTI reported. The total number of vaccine doses administered crossed 72 crore on Thursday.
  5. Yogesh Parmar, the junior physiotherapist of the Indian cricket team that is currently on a tour of England, tested positive for coronavirus. Earlier, head coach Ravi Shastri fielding coach R Sridhar and bowling coach Bharat Arun had tested positive. It is not yet confirmed whether the fifth test match of the ongoing India-England series, scheduled to begin on Friday, will be played.
  6. Kerala reported 26,200 new cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, while 114 people died due to the infection, state Health Minister Veena George said, reported ANI. George added that the state government was aiming to complete the first dose of vaccination for all adults by September 30.
  7. The Mumbai Police barred assembly of five or more persons in the city during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival which will begin on Friday, NDTV reported. Processions and visits to pandals had also been banned during the festival.
  8. Sri Lanka has urged the country’s women to delay their pregnancy after more than 40 expectant mothers died of Covid-19 in the last four months, AFP reported.
  9. Covid-19 cases among children are on the rise in the United States as schools are being reopened in the country, The Guardian reported. A total of 7.5 lakh children tested positive between August 5 and September 2.
  10. Globally, Covid-19 has infected more than 22.27 crore people and led to over 46 lakh deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.