1. India on Tuesday recorded 1,61,736 new Covid-19 cases, according to the Union health ministry’s data. The country’s overall tally of infections since the pandemic broke out in January 2020 rose to 1,36,89,453. The toll rose to 1,71,058 with 879 deaths in the last 24 hours. India has 12.64 lakh active cases as of Tuesday morning.
  2. Delhi registered a record 13,468 new coronavirus cases, taking its overall count since the beginning of the pandemic last year to 7,50,156. The Capital’s toll rose to 11,436 as 81 more deaths were recorded in the last day. With 6,690 cases, Gujarat also reported its highest one-day rise in cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to PTI. The state’s tally of infections rose to 3,60,206, while the toll went up to 4,922. 
  3. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath went into isolation after some members of his staff tested positive for the coronavirus. Union Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar also tested positive for the infection. 
  4. Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday recorded 18,021 coronavirus cases, the highest-ever single-day infection count registered in the state, reported PTI. With this, the case tally climbed to 7,23,582 since the pandemic broke out in Janaury 2020. The toll climbed by 85 to 9,309 in the last 24 hours. There are 95,980 active coronavirus cases in the state.
  5. The United States health regulators on Tuesday recommended pausing the use of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. They will investigate reports of “rare and severe type of blood clot” in six women. More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine have been administered in the US till now.
  6. As many as 102 devotees have tested positive for the coronavirus at the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. Several lakh devotees are visiting the Kumbh Mela each day since it started on April 1 but only a few fraction are being tested. Other basic Covid-19 related protocols such as wearing masks, thermal screening, and checking negative test reports have been ignored.
  7. The Drugs Controller General of India has approved the emergency use of Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V, the Union health ministry said. The Russian vaccine, being produced in India in partnership with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories in Hyderabad, is the third vaccine to get approved in the country after Serum Institute of India’s Covaxin and Bharat Biotech’s Covishield.
  8. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday wrote to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan seeking 50 lakh coronavirus vaccine doses as the stocks in the state are likely to last only three more days. Vijayan’s request came amid similar pleas from several states that continue to face shortages amid a massive surge in infections.
  9. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that despite more than 780 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines being administered across the world, the pandemic is still “a long way from over”, reported PTI.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 13.66 crore people and killed 29,46,803 since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 7.78 crore people have recovered from the infection.