Here are the top updates from Sunday:

  1. British Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that plans to make vaccine passports mandatory in nightclubs and large events in England later this month have been dropped, the BBC reported. The plan had been criticised by some industry bodies as discriminatory. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce his Covid-19 management plans for the winter months on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
  2. India recorded 28,591 new coronavirus cases, pushing the overall tally of infections since the outbreak of the pandemic in January last year to 3,32,36,921. The country’s toll rose to 4,42,655 as it recorded 338 deaths in the last 24 hours. India’s count of active cases stood at 3,84,921.
  3. The Centre has informed the Supreme Court about its set of guidelines for issuing certificates for Covid-19 deaths. According to the new guidelines, deaths within 30 days of patients testing positive for the virus will be considered Covid-19 fatalities. In case a patient admitted to a medical facility for more than 30 days dies there, that will also be considered a Covid-19 death, the guidelines said.
  4. Kerala reported 20,420 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours with a positivity rate of 17.51%. As many as 67 people died due to the infection in the state, ANI reported.
  5. Sikkim government decided to shut down all educational institutions till October 31, PTI reported. The decision was taken less than a week after schools and collges were reopened on September 6. However, soon after at least five students tested positive for coronavirus in various schools of the state, prompting the decision to shut them again.
  6. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that five states and Union Territories – Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Lakshdweep and Sikkim – have administered the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine to all its adults.
  7. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that the Union Territory will launch a special drive to vaccinate students above 18 years of age on priority to facilitate speedy reopening of educational institutions, PTI reported.
  8. Several gorillas at Zoo Atlanta in Georgia in United States have tested positive for coronavirus, AFP reported. The gorillas were tested after they showed coughing and other symptoms.
  9. Australia, which is battling an outbreak of the Delta variant of coronavirus, purchased an additional 10 lakh doses of the Moderna vaccine from the European Union, Reuters reported.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has now infected over 22.44 crore people and killed more than 46.27 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.