India recorded 16,862 new coronavirus cases on Friday morning, which took the total number of infections to 3,40,37,592 since the pandemic began in January last year. The new cases were 11.19% lower than Thursday’s count of 18,987 infections.

The nationwide toll increased to 4,51,814 as 379 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours.

India presently has 2,03,678 active cases, and the number of active cases decreased by 2,908 in the past day. In all, 3,33,82,100 people have recovered from Covid-19 in the country till now.

Till Thursday, a total of 97,14,38,553 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the country. In the past 24 hours, 30,26483 vaccine doses have been administered.

Other updates

  • India has sent coronavirus vaccines to Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Iran after the Centre decided to resume supply to other countries, PTI quoted the Ministry of External Affairs as saying on Thursday. External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the Centre will decide on further supplies based on India’s production and demand.
  • Schools in Goa can resume in-person classes for Class 9 to Class 12 from October 18, The Times of India reported. The government took the decision after consultations with its expert committee on Covid-19 management.

Global updates

  • China on Thursday warned against “political manipulation” of an investigation by the World Health Organisation into the origins of the coronavirus, AP reported. China’s foreign ministry, however, said that the country will “continue to support and participate in global scientific tracing”. 
  • Globally, the coronavirus has infected over 23.95 crore people and caused more than 48.81 lakh deaths since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.