India on Saturday morning recorded 15,981 new coronavirus cases, pushing the infection tally to 3,40,53,573 since the pandemic broke out in the country in January last year. The new cases were 5.22% fewer than Friday’s count of 16,862 infections.

India has logged fewer than 20,000 single-day new infections for eight days straight. On October 8, the country had reported 21,257 coronavirus cases.

With 166 deaths in the last 24 hours, the toll climbed to 4,51,980 on Saturday. The active caseload dropped to 2,01,632. As many as 3,33,99,961 people have recovered from the infection in the country.

So far, India has so far administered 97,23,77,045 Covid vaccine doses. Of this, 8,36,118 doses were administered on Friday.

Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

State updates

  • Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that India remains committed to providing coronavirus vaccines to vulnerable and low-income countries, reported PTI. She said that there was no alternative other than ensuring the universal availability of vaccines for a successful global fight against the pandemic.
  • The Travancore Devaswom Board said the Sabarimala temple in Kerala will reopen at 5 pm on Saturday, reported ANI. However, devotees will only be allowed from 5 pm on Sunday. They will need to either produce their vaccination certificate showing they have received both the jabs or an RT-PCR negative test certificate before entering the temple.
  • Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded its first Covid-19 death after a gap of four months as a 67-year-old woman succumbed to the infection, reported PTI. The district’s toll rose to 467.

Global updates

  • The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that that it will accept mixed-dose of coronavirus vaccines from international travellers as the country plans to open borders for foreign visitors from November 8, reported Reuters. Earlier, the country’s administration had said that vaccines only approved by US regulators or the World Health Organization will be accepted.
  • The Australian city of Sydney will permit the entry of fully vaccinated overseas travellers from November 1 without any mandatory quarantine requirement, reported Reuters. Authorities, however, said that the easing of the entry conditions would be meant for its citizens initially.
  • South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla said that his government will start vaccinating children between the ages of 12 and 17 from next week using the Pfizer vaccine, reported Reuters. South Africa’s health regulator had approved the Pfizer vaccine for use on children last month.
  • Globally, the coronavirus has infected over 24 crore people and caused more than 48.89 lakh deaths since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.