Top 10 Coronavirus updates: Modi reviews progress of vaccination, directs officials to maintain pace
A look at the biggest Covid-19 developments of the day.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting to review the progress of Covid-19 vaccination in the country. He expressed satisfaction with the pace of vaccination and directed officials to maintain it. He also instructed them to involve non-governmental organisations in efforts to widen the reach of vaccines.
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences chief Dr Randeep Guleria said mixing Covid-19 vaccines might help create better immunity but more information was needed before making a final decision on that, NDTV reported.
- India recorded 48,698 new coronavirus cases and 1,183 deaths on Saturday morning. With this, the country’s overall count of infections since the pandemic broke out in 2020 rose to 3,01,83,143. The toll increased to 3,94,493.
- Delhi reported 85 new coronavirus cases, taking its total count of infections since the outbreak of the pandemic to 14,33,675. This the Capital’s lowest daily rise in cases since May last year, NDTV reported. The city’s toll rose by nine to 24,961.
- All India Institute Of Medical Science chief Dr Randeep Guleria said it would not be accurate to conclude that the Delhi government had exaggerated its oxygen demand during the peak of the second wave of the Covid-19 crisis. Meanwhile, amid the controversy over an interim report prepared by a court-appointed oxygen audit panel, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stressed on the need to stop arguing and work towards preventing an oxygen crisis in a possible third wave of the pandemic.
- Goa extended its Covid-19 curfew till July 5 as the “Delta plus” variant was detected in the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
- A modelling study conducted by the Indian Council Of Medical Research and London’s Imperial estimated that the possible third wave of Covid-19 in India was unlikely to be as large as the second one.
- More than 2 lakh people were vaccinated in Delhi on Saturday. Maharashtra administered a record 7 lakh vaccines, according to News18.
- The Uttarakhand government decided to open the Char Dham Yatra only for residents of Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts, where the Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines are located.
- World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday criticised rich countries for their reluctance in sharing Covid-19 vaccines with the low-income ones, adding that vaccine inequity had exposed the unfairness of the world. Globally, the coronavirus disease has infected over 18 crore people and killed more than 39.08 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.