India recorded 15,906 new coronavirus cases on Sunday morning, which took the total number of infections in the country to 3,41,75,468 since the pandemic began in January last year. The number of new cases was 2.5% lower than Saturday’s count of 16,326.

India’s toll rose to 4,54,269 as it recorded 561 more deaths in the last 24 hours. The number of active cases in India was 1,72,594 on Sunday morning. The tally of recoveries stood at 3,35,48,605.

Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Assam recorded over 300 new cases for the fifth day on Saturday, PTI reported. The state’s tally of infections stood at 6,08,126. Its toll rose by three to 5,967.

In India, over 102 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered since the beginning of the inoculation drive in January.

On Saturday, the Centre asked the states and Union territories to inoculate on priority the citizens whose waiting window for the second Covid-19 vaccine dose was over.

The government also issued an advisory on precautions to be taken during the festival season. It suggested that citizens shop online instead of travelling unnecessarily. It banned mass gatherings in containment zones where more than 5% people test positive for Covid. Gatherings in any other locations would require advance permission and will be monitored closely.

Global Covid-19 updates

The coronavirus has infected over 24.33 crore people in the world and caused more than 49.43 lakh deaths since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Russia registered a record 1,075 Covid-19 deaths on Saturday, The Guardian reported. The government is preparing to impose countrywide restrictions from next week.

In Australia’s Melbourne city, more coronavirus curbs will be eased next week when Victoria achieves a full vaccination rate of 80%, Reuters reported.