India recorded over 1.52 lakh new covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Monday, taking the country’s total infections to over 2.80 crore. This is the lowest spike in daily infections since April 9.
Out of these, active cases further declined to over 20 lakh and the number of recoveries escalated to over 2.56 crore. With 3,128 new fatalities, the lowest since April 26, the death toll is now at over 3.29 lakh. As daily infections see a downward trend, several states announced a few relaxations while many have extended the lockdown measures.
In an important development, the Centre is looking at redefining its vaccine strategy and planning to begin testing the feasibility of mixing two different covid-19 vaccines to see if it helps boost immune response to the virus, The Indian Express has learnt.
The government will also likely review the impact of extending the interval between covishield doses. A newly proposed vaccine tracker platform is likely to launch shortly too, sources said.Tamil Nadu continued to be the top contributor with 28,864 cases. Maharashtra count below 20,000 for second consecutive day.
The Bihar government on Monday extended the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown across the state for another week, till June 8 to curb the spread of coronavirus.
In a tweet, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, “In view of the corona infection, it has been decided to extend the lockdown by one week i.e. till June 8, 2021. But an additional discount is being given for business. Everyone wear mask and maintain social distance.”
Highlighting the technical difficulties faced by people in rural areas, the Supreme Court on Monday questioned Centre on mandatory registration on the CoWIN app in order to get vaccinated. It added that there is digital divide in the country and that policy makers should pay attention to the realities on ground. This comes as cases continue to rise in rural parts of the country, with vaccination numbers lagging behind. Meanwhile, the Central government told the Supreme Court that it will be able to vaccinate the entire adult population in India by the end of 2021.
Source: The Indian Express
BDST: 1448 HRS, MAY 31, 2021
SMS
