Coronavirus: India records over 3.29 lakh new cases, 3,876 deaths
Meanwhile, US’ Food and Drug Administration authorised the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children in the 12 to 15 age group.
India on Tuesday recorded 3,29,942 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally of infections in the country to 2,29,92,517 since the pandemic emerged in the country in January 2020. This is the second straight day India has reported a drop in cases. The toll climbed by 3,876 to 2,49,992.
As many as 37,15,221 Covid-19 patients were being treated in the country and 1,90,27,304 recovered from the infection so far. Till 8 am on May 11, India administered 17,27,10,066 Covid-19 vaccine doses, with 25,03,756 shots given on Monday alone.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that it has provided a total of 18,00,03,160 vaccine doses to states and Union Territories for free. The ministry clarified that 90,31,691 doses were still available with the states and Union Territories. The statement came amid reports from several states about shortages of vaccine shots to inoculate their residents.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday alleged that the Centre has allowed only 3.5 lakh doses of coronavirus vaccine for the national Capital in May even though the Aam Aadmi Party government had placed orders for 1.34 crore shots with manufacturers, reported PTI.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain also warned that the city was running dangerously low on vaccine supplies. Covid-19 infections have come down in the city, but there were reports on low testing as well. The national Capital reported 12,651 coronavirus cases and 319 deaths in a day on Monday. With this, the national Capital has a total of 13,36,218 cases and 19,663 deaths. The positivity rate fell to 19.1%, the lowest it has been since April 16. However, the number of tests conducted have also been falling.
Maharashtra and Mumbai also reported their lowest single-day case counts since March. Mumbai reported 1,794 new cases, the lowest single-day count since March 16, and 74 deaths. The city now has a total of 6,78,269 cases and 13,891 deaths. Maharashtra reported 37,236 new cases and 549 deaths, taking the overall case count to 51,38,973 and the toll to 76,398.
Meanwhile, the United States’ Food and Drug Administration authorised the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children in the 12 to 15 age group, reported The New York Times. However, they will be immunised only after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approves the vaccine for the age group.
The coronavirus has now infected 15.86 crore people across the world and killed over 32.99 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University. Over 9.46 crore people have recovered from the infection.
