1. India’s coronavirus count rose to 59,03,932 on Saturday, as the country reported 85,362 new cases in 24 hours. India’s toll rose by 1,089 to 93,379. As many as 48.49 lakh people have recovered from the infection so far. The Indian Council of Medical Research said 13,41,535 samples were tested on Friday.
  2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked where the United Nations was in the joint fight against the coronavirus pandemic. “Over the last eight to nine months, the whole world has been battling the pandemic of the coronavirus,” Modi said. “Where is the United Nations in this joint fight against the pandemic? Where is its effective response?”
  3. Modi also assured the United Nations that India would help the world with a vaccine against the coronavirus. “As the largest vaccine producing country of the world, I want to give one more assurance to the global community today,” he said. “India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis.”
  4. Of the new cases reported on Saturday, 75% were from 10 states and Union Territories of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Delhi, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, the Centre said. Of the 1,089 deaths that were recorded, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Chhattisgarh accounted for 83% of the casualties.
  5. Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive officer of the Serum Institute of India, on Saturday asked if the government had the funds to procure coronavirus vaccines to inoculate the whole population. The Serum Institute of India is conducting Phase 3 trials of a vaccine candidate developed by Oxford University and British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
  6. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s condition has improved and he has been moved from the ICU to a normal ward, PTI reported. He is suffering from Covid-19 and dengue.
  7. The Centre said on Saturday that it would cap the price of liquid oxygen amid complaints of hoarding. The government has capped manufacturers’ prices at Rs 15.22 per cubic metre and those of medical oxygen delivered by cylinder to end-users at Rs 25.71 per cubic metre.
  8. The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition that sought directions to the chief minister of Delhi to stop publication of data on coronavirus cases based on religion. The bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah said that the grievances expressed in the plea had already been taken care of.
  9. Thousands of people gathered at the Trafalgar Square in London on Saturday to protest against lockdown rules in a “We Do Not Consent” rally. A similar rally last weekend had turned violent.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 3.26 crore people and killed 9,89,921, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of worldwide recoveries is more than 2.25 crore.