Here is what happened on Sunday:
- The Kerala government on Sunday said it will enforce stringent lockdowns in areas where the number of Covid-19 cases is high, PTI reported. The restrictions will be imposed in places where the Weekly Infection Population Ratio is above 10. The Weekly Infection Population Ratio is the total number of coronavirus cases reported in a week multiplied by 1,000 and divided by the total population of local bodies. Kerala registered 19,653 new cases and 152 deaths on Sunday.
- India on Sunday recorded 30,773 new Covid-19 cases, which pushed the country’s overall tally of infections since the outbreak of the pandemic in January last year to 3,34,48,163. India’s toll rose to 4,44,838 after it recorded 309 more deaths.
- The World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization will meet next month to make its recommendation on the emergency use listing of Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine Covaxin, PTI reported.
- India has administered more than 80 crore vaccine doses since the beginning of the inoculation drive in January, the Union health ministry’s data on Sunday showed. On Saturday, 85 lakh doses were administered. The country had set an inoculation record by administering 2.5 crore doses in a single day on Friday. The record coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said this is the pace India needed on other days too.
- Gujarat registered eight new coronavirus cases and no deaths on Sunday, PTI reported. This is the first time in nine months that the state’s daily count of infections is in single digits.
- The government is considering allowing foreign tourists to visit India for the first time in over a year, PTI reported, quoting unidentified officials. Free visas will be issued to 5 lakh tourists, according to the news agency.
- The United Kingdom recorded 30,144 new cases and 164 deaths on Sunday, The Guardian reported. The country’s overall tally of infections rose to 74,00,739, while the toll climbed to 1,35,147.
- Globally, the coronavirus has infected over 22.81 crore people and caused more than 46.85 lakh deaths since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.
- On Saturday, 25,000 people gathered for a huge party in Madrid to mark the start of the term at a university, The Guardian reported.
- Vietnam has approved the Abdala coronavirus vaccine developed in Cuba, Reuters reported. The Asian country is currently battling its worst Covid-19 outbreak. Just 6.3% of Vietnam’s population is fully vaccinated so far.
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