India on Thursday morning recorded 16,156 new coronavirus cases, pushing the infection tally in the country to 3,42,31,809 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. The number of cases was 20.11% higher than Thursday’s count of 13,451 infections.

The toll increased to 4,56,386 as 733 more people died in the last 24 hours, The active cases fell to 1,60,989. As many as 3,36,14,434 people have recovered from the disease.

So far, India has administered over 104.04 Covid-19 vaccine doses. On Tuesday, 49,09,254 shots were administered.

Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil has tested positive for coronavirus for the second time in a year, PTI reported on Thursday. He has received both shots of the Covid-19 vaccine.

“My condition is stable and I am following my doctor’s advice,” he said in a tweet. “I urge all those who came in contact with me during Nagpur and Amravati tour, and other programs, to get themselves tested.”

State updates

  • The Indian Council of Medical Research has rejected the request of Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope to decrease the interval of 84 days between the two shots of Covishield, reported The Indian Express. Tope had said that reducing the gap would allow the state government to  vaccinate more people leading to herd immunity among citizens.
  • The Union government has applied for loans from the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to buy 66.7 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses, reported The Hindu. The banks are considering the request.
  • Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the government was going to launch a mega coronavirus vaccination campaign from next month, reported ANI.

Global updates

  • Oman has added Covaxin to its approved list of Covid-19 vaccines for travel to the country. This means that beneficiaries of the vaccine, who are fully vaccinated, can travel to Oman without undergoing quarantine. 
  • The coronavirus has infected over 24.49 crore people in the world and caused more than 49.71 lakh deaths since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.