Here are top updates from Monday:

  1. The United States government has announced that it will lift coronavirus-related travel ban on all air passengers from November, provided they are fully vaccinated, AFP reported. Jeffrey Zients, coronavirus response coordinator for President Joe Biden, said that travellers will have to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test result taken within three days.
  2. India on Monday recorded 30,256 new coronavirus cases, pushing the infection tally in the country to 3,34,78,419 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. With 295 deaths, the toll climbed to 4,45,133. The active cases have declined to 3,18,181 – the lowest in 183 days.
  3. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said that India will resume exporting surplus coronavirus vaccines from October. India had halted export of Covid-19 vaccines in April after the second wave of the pandemic started to peak.
  4. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to direct the central and state governments to expedite their decision on resuming physical classes in schools. The petition was filed by a school student who lives in Delhi.  
  5. Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Jairam Ramesh on Monday criticised the United Kingdom government’s decision to consider people vaccinated in certain countries, including India, as unvaccinated. According to the UK government’s new travel rules, people vaccinated in Africa and South America, and in countries including India, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Jordan, Thailand and Russia will be considered unvaccinated. They will have to undergo a 10-day quarantine on arrival in the United Kingdom. These rules will be effective from October 4.  
  6. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition demanding that the Centre should classify pregnant and lactating mothers in the high-risk category and give them priority in Covid-19 vaccination, PTI reported. In a separate case, the court also directed the Centre to list out steps it has taken to facilitate access to vaccines for persons with disabilities, according to The Hindu.
  7. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer on Monday said that its coronavirus vaccine works for children from 5 to 11 years of age. The company said it will seek authorisation in the United States for this age group.
  8. The Himachal Pradesh government has directed schools to remain closed till September 25, PTI reported. Residential schools can remain open but will have to follow standard operating procedures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
  9. The United Kingdom on Monday began administering coronavirus vaccines to school children from 12 to 15 years of age, The Telegraph reported. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said that the expansion of the vaccination programme reflected the “government’s ongoing commitment to protect young people from Covid-19 and minimise any disruption to their education”.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has infected over 22.86 crore people and caused more than 46.94 lakh deaths since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.