Here are the top updates on Tuesday:

  1. The second and third phase trials of Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin, for those in the age group of 2-18 will begin in 10-12 days, Niti Aayog member VK Paul said at a press briefing. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked the Centre to suspend travel between India and Singapore, over concerns raised by the city-state on coronavirus variants that might affect children.
  2. India on Tuesday reported its highest single-day death count, registering 4,329 new Covid-19 fatalities, data from the Union health ministry showed. With this, the toll climbed to 2,78,719 since the pandemic first broke out in January 2020. The country also recorded 2,63,533 new coronavirus cases, pushing the infection tally to 2,52,28,996. 
  3. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced free education for children who have lost both parents to Covid-19. The children will also be given a monthly pension of Rs 2,500 till they turn 25. In a slew of other measures, Kejriwal said an ex-gratia amount of Rs 50,000 will be provided to families who have lost members to Covid-19. A monthly pension of Rs 2,500 will be given to the spouse of a deceased breadwinner of the family. In case of unmarried individuals, the pension will be given to his/her parents. Ration card holders in the city will be given an additional 5 kg of ration free of cost for the month of May, apart from the 5 kg allocated under the Centre’s quota.
  4. The health ministry said that only 1.8% of India’s population has so far been affected by coronavirus, adding that 98% was still susceptible to the infection. At a press briefing Health ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal also said India on Tuesday recorded the highest single-day recovery count since the pandemic broke out in February 2020.
  5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the central government is making continuous efforts to scale up the supply of coronavirus vaccines. At a virtual meeting with officials from several states and districts Modi added that localised containment measures, aggressive testing and providing correct information to the people were the weapons to tackle the health crisis.
  6. The Indian Medical Association said that 270 doctors across the country have so far died of the coronavirus infection during the second wave of the pandemic. Last year, 748 doctors had died during the first wave, the association said.
  7. The Serum Institute of India, manufacturer of Covishield, said that the company has not exported vaccines “at the cost of people in India”. The company backed the central government’s decision to send vaccines to other countries, suggesting that “cooperation between countries” formed the basis for getting access to technology and aid for healthcare.
  8. Maharashtra reported 28,438 new cases of coronavirus and 679 deaths in the last 24 hours. National Capital Delhi reported 4,482 new cases and 265 fatalities. The positivity rate in Delhi dipped under 7%.
  9. A draft document of G20 countries backed “voluntary licensing” of Covid-19 vaccine patents watering down the United States’ push for waivers and earlier commitments to supply more funds to the World Health Organization, Reuters reported.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has now infected 16.37 crore people and killed over 33.92 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.