India recorded 15,823 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday morning, which took the total number of infections to 3,40,01,743 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. The new cases were 10.5% higher than Tuesday’s count of 14,313 infections.

The country’s toll rose to 4,51,189 as it recorded 226 deaths in the last 24 hours. The number of active cases in India stood at 2,07,653 on Wednesday, while the tally of recoveries was 3,33,42,901.

Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

More than 96.43 crore vaccine doses have been administered in India since the beginning of the inoculation drive in January. Over 50 lakh doses were administered on Tuesday alone.

Bharat Biotech’s vaccine, Covaxin, was on Tuesday recommended for use on children in the age group of 2 years to 18 years by an expert panel.

Meanwhile, health experts in West Bengal have warned that a new outbreak of Covid-19 infections could occur as residents violate safety norms during Durga Puja celebrations. In widely shared videos of the festivities, residents could be seen crowding pandals, some not even wearing masks.

The United States has decided to open its land borders with Mexico and Canada for travellers who are fully vaccinated in early November, Reuters reported.

Globally, the coronavirus has infected over 23.86 crore people and caused more than 48.64 lakh deaths since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.