On Tuesday India recorded 1,27,510 new Covid-19 cases and 2,795 deaths due to the infection. India saw a total of 2,55,287 discharges in the last 24 hours, taking the total recovery to 2,59,47,629. The total cases of COVID-19 in India have now mounted to 2,81,75,044, with 18,95,520 active cases. The total death toll in the country is now at 3,31,895.
India's positivity rate, which has been below 10 percent for over a week now, stood at 6.6 percent this morning. Tamil Nadu saw the highest fresh cases in the country with 27,936 infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday said the COVID-19 variant first found in India- B.1.617 - will henceforth be referred to as the "Delta variant". Mutations have made the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic more challenging. "No country should be stigmatized for detecting and reporting Covid variants," said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical lead COVID-19 at WHO."
The government on Monday told states to publish vaccination slots based on the availability of vaccines with digital platform COWIN offering the option to reschedule vaccine sessions. COWIN "does not collect any information about COVID-19 infection history of any person," the Health Ministry said yesterday.
The Supreme Court on Monday flagged "various flaws" in the center's vaccine decisions, including those linked to pricing. The Centre has said it aims to vaccinate the entire population by the end of 2021.
Maharashtra's Covid curve is witnessing a downward trend. The state's Covid fatality rate now stands at 1.66% and positivity rate at 16.39%. 15,077 fresh cases were recorded and restrictions in Mumbai have been eased.
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and several states have eased Covid restrictions amid drops in cases.
The government will soon begin tests on mixing vaccines and the effectiveness of a single dose of Covishield at a time the shortage of Covid shots has slowed down vaccinations.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday urged Rajasthan to probe reports of alleged wastage of the Covid vaccine in the state on priority even as the state government refuted the reports.
