1. India on Wednesday registered 3,48,421 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally of infections to 2,33,40,938 since the pandemic broke out in the country in January last year. With 4,205 deaths, the toll rose to 2,54,197. This is the highest single-day rise in deaths in India since the outbreak of the pandemic.
  2. The Assam government imposed stricter curbs in the state, including a daily curfew between 2 pm and 5 am and closure of all educational institutions and offices, for 15 days from Thursday. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Cabinet has recommended extending the lockdown-like curbs in the state for two weeks to rein in the spread of Covid-19, health minister Rajesh Tope said. However, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will take a decision on it soon, he added.
  3. The Union Health Ministry objected to media reports calling the infectious B.1.617 coronavirus strain the “Indian variant”, saying even the World Health Organization had not used the term in its guidelines.
  4. The Delhi government said people under the age of 45 will not get Covaxin shots from Thursday as supplies run short. It added that stocks of Covaxin will last for next four days and those have to be reserved for frontline workers and those above 45. 
  5. The Centre said it will ramp up the production of the drug, Amphotericin B, which was being used in patients suffering from mucormycosis fungal infection, a post Covid complication. The health ministry said that after reviewing the stock position with the manufacturers and importers, and the demand pattern for the drug, the government has allocated supplies for all the states and Union Territories, which will be available from May 10 till the end of this month.
  6. Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said the state could have over 2,000 cases of mucormycosis, a fungal infection more commonly known as “black fungus”. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan raised concern about 50 “black fungus” cases among Covid patients in the state.
  7. The Bombay High Court expressed its disappointment at the Centre for refusing to start door-to-door Covid vaccinations for senior citizens, saying that many lives would have been saved if only authorities had conducted the exercise.
  8. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed that Bharat Biotech, the manufacturer of coronavirus vaccine Covaxin, refused to supply additional doses to the Capital. Delhi had asked for 1.34 crore vaccine doses, equal parts Covaxin and Serum Institute of India’s Covishield. Meanwhile, at least eight states, including Delhi, have decide to float global tenders for vaccines amid shortages.
  9. The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it was reviewing the situation in Seychelles, an island country in the Indian Ocean, after over one-third of residents who tested positive for the coronavirus last week had been fully vaccinated.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has now infected 15.97 crore people and killed over 33.20 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University. Over 9.58 crore people have recovered from the infection.