1. The Union health ministry on Tuesday said that the risk of dying due to vaccination was negligible as compared to that of dying because of the infection, reported PTI. This came after the National AEFI Committee studying Covid-19 vaccines confirmed that a 68-year-old man died due to anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction) after being vaccinated on March 8.
  2. India recorded 60,471 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday morning, taking its overall tally to 2,95,70,881 since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. The toll rose by 2,726 to to 3,77,031. This is the lowest single-day rise in cases since March 31. The number of active cases stayed below 10 lakh for the second day in a row. India now has 9,13,378 active cases.
  3. As daily coronavirus cases continue to decline, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chandigarh on Tuesday eased restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the infection.
  4. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday eased coronavirus-induced restrictions in the state for local bodies with less than 8% test positivity rate. This came a day after he announced that decentralised containment strategies would be devised, depending on the level of disease transmission in each local body.
  5. The Centre said slightly more number of people under 20 years of age were affected in the second wave than the first. During the second wave, 11.62% Covid cases were seen in below 20 years age group while it was 11.31% during the first wave.
  6. Covaxin maker Bharat Biotech on Tuesday said supplying the coronavirus vaccine to the Centre at Rs 150 per dose was “clearly not sustainable in the long run”. Therefore, a higher price in private markets was necessary to offset part of the costs, it added.
  7. The Taj Mahal and all other centrally-protected monuments, museums and sites will reopen on Wednesday after around two months, reported PTI. At Taj Mahal, only 650 will be allowed to enter at a time. The monument premises will be sanitised three times a day. “Masks will be mandatory for tourists,” Superintending Archaeologist (Agra Circle) Vasant Kumar Swarnakar told PTI. “Thermal screening of tourists would be done at the gates and they would be sanitised before entering the monument premises.”    
  8. The Union health ministry on Tuesday said that pre-registration for Covid-19 vaccination through online registration and prior booking of appointment is now not mandatory.
  9. Two shots of Covid-19 vaccines are “highly effective” in preventing hospitalisation in cases of the Delta variant, the United Kingdom’s health body Public Health England said on Monday. “The analysis suggests...the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalisation after two doses,” a statement read. “The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% effective against hospitalisation after two doses.”
  10. Globally, the coronavirus disease has infected over 17.62 crore people and killed more than 38.08 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.