Here are the updates from Monday:

  1. Delhi recorded 648 new coronavirus cases, taking its total count of infections to 14,26,240 since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. The city’s positivity rate dropped to 0.99%. This is the Capital’s lowest daily rise in cases since March 18, The Indian Express reported. Delhi’s toll rose to 24,237 as it recorded 86 deaths in 24 hours. Meanwhile, Maharashtra registered 15,077 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, the lowest single-day count in three months, reported NDTV. The daily death count also fell to a two-month low after the state reported 184 fatalities. Mumbai recorded 676 infections and 29 deaths.
  2. India registered 1,52,734 new Covid-19 infections and 3,128 deaths in a day. Its total count of cases since the outbreak of the pandemic reached 2,80,47,534, while the toll went up to 3,29,100. There are 20,26,092 active cases in the country now, while 2,56,92,342 patients have recovered.
  3. The Supreme Court pointed out several flaws in the Centre’s coronavirus vaccination policy, seeking to know why there was a discrepancy in the supply for different age groups and why there was no uniform pricing. It also sought information on the measures taken by the government to ensure that people in rural areas are inoculated. The court directed the Centre to respond to its concerns and adjourned the hearing in the matter for two weeks.
  4. India’s economy contracted by 7.3% in the 2020-’21 financial year, government data showed on Monday. This is the worst contraction for a financial year in four decades. Economists had expressed concerns about this quarter due to a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
  5. The Delhi High Court dismissed a petition to stop work on the Central Vista project amid the Covid-19 crisis. A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said Central Vista was an “essential project of national importance”.
  6. India may soon begin testing the feasibility of a regimen that mixes two different Covid-19 vaccines to see if it helps boost immune response, said NK Arora, the chairperson of Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group.
  7. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar claimed Delhi ran out of vaccines because the government inoculated people “very quickly”. He alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal gave out lakhs of vaccines every day and exhausted the Capital’s stock, NDTV reported.
  8. The Uttarakhand government extended coronavirus-related restrictions till June 9, while Bihar extended its lockdown till June 8.
  9. Globally, the coronavirus has now infected over 17.01 crore people and killed more than 35.38 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.
  10. Singapore will begin vaccinating 12-18 year-old adolescents from Tuesday, Reuters reported.