India on Monday recorded 38,948 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the cumulative tally of infections since the pandemic began in January last year to 3,30,27,621.

The new cases on Monday are 8.9% lower than Sunday’s count of 42,766.

The toll in the country increased to 4,40,752 as 219 deaths were recorded in the last day. The number of active cases currents stands at 4,04,874. Active cases have dropped by 5,174 in the past 24 hours.

In all, 3,21,81,995 people have recovered from Covid-19 in the country so far. The country-wide recovery rate currently stands at 97.44%

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The number of people who received Covid-19 vaccines in the past day was 25,23,089, according to the health ministry’s data. A total of 68,75,41,762 people have received coronavirus vaccines in the country so far.

The daily positivity rate in the past 24 hours was reported to be 2.76%. The figure has been less than 3% for the past seven days, as per the Union health ministry.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with healthcare workers and beneficiaries of the vaccination programme in Himachal Pradesh. The prime minister’s office said in a statement that Himachal Pradesh has become the first state to inoculate all eligible citizens with the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

On Himachal Pradesh’s feat, Modi said that the state has underlined the importance of confidence and self-reliance. He said that Himachal Pradesh has emerged as a champion in the fight against the pandemic.

Other updates

  • The Goa government has extended the curfew imposed on account of Covid-19 till September 13, Mint reported. The state government has directed that all restrictions currently in force will continue till then, the newspaper quoted a senior official as saying.
  • The Mizoram government has extended a partial lockdown in Aizawl, and extended Covid-19 related curbs in some other parts of the state till September 18, PTI reported. The state registered 967 new coronavirus cases and one new fatality due to the disease in the past 24 hours, as per official figures.
  • The Centre shared a set of parameters with all states and Union Territories to identify fake Covid-19 vaccines, PTI reported. The development after the World Health Organization said that its surveillance and monitoring system had identified fake Covishield vials in Southeast Asia and Africa.
  • Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray criticised Opposition leaders in the state for demanding the reopening of religious places, Mint reported. He said that the government did not want to open religious establishments and close them again if the situation worsened. Thackeray also pointed out that that Covid-19 cases had risen in the state during the festival season last year.

Global updates

  • The World Health Organization’s Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Sunday said that it will support countries to vaccinate at least 10% of their populations by the end of this month. He added that as per the WHO’s targets, 40% of each country’s population should be vaccinated by the end of this year, and 70% by the middle of next year. The WHO chief made these remarks at G20 health ministers’ meeting in Rome.
  • Covid-19 infections in New South Wales, the state that is the epicentre of the pandemic in Australia, are expected to peak next week, Reuters quoted authorities as saying. The state registered 1,281 new coronavirus cases on Monday, down from 1,485 on the previous day. Five new deaths were also reported from New South Wales.
  • Covid-19 has infected more than 22.06 crore people and led to over 45.67 lakh deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in December 2019, according to John Hopkins University.