India on Thursday registered 13,091 new Covid-19 infections, taking the overall infection count in the country to 3,44,01,670 since the pandemic began in January last year. The number of new cases was 14.17% higher than Wednesday’s count of 11,466 cases.

The countrywide toll rose to 4,62,189 after 340 people died of the disease in the past 24 hours. A total of 3,38,00,925 persons have recovered from the disease so far in the country.

The country presently has 1,38,556 active coronavirus cases, and the number of active cases has reduced by 1,127 over the past day.

Credit: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Other updates

  • Emergency use authorisation for molnupiravir – a pill developed by pharmaceutical company Merck to treat mild to moderate Covid-19 – is likely to be given by Indian authorities within days, Ram Vishwakarma, Chairman of the Covid Strategy Group of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research told NDTV.
  • The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said it expects the Union government to continue the vaccination programme and supply shots as per its policy, The Hindu reported. The court said this in response to a petition that sought their supply at “reduced” rates. The Centre told the bench that it provided vaccines free of cost to states and Union Territories.
  • Union Health Ministry Mansukh Mandaviya is scheduled to hold a meeting with health ministers of states and Union Territories about the “Har Ghar Dastak”, or door-to-door, vaccination campaign, ANI reported.

Global updates

  • France is at the beginning of a fifth Covid-19 wave, the country’s Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The country reported 11,883 infections on Wednesday, making it the second day in a row with a single-day tally above 10,000.
  • The coronavirus has infected over 25.14 crore people across the world and caused more than 50.72 lakh deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University.