India’s coronavirus tally rose to 81,37,119 on Saturday as it reported 48,268 new cases in the last 24 hours. The country’s toll rose by 551 to 1,21,641. The number of active cases stood at 5,82,649, while the recoveries reached 74,32,829.

The Union health ministry said that the drive to introduce the coronavirus vaccine will span over a year. It added that multiple groups will be sequentially included in the drive, starting from frontline health workers. The Centre also asked the states to form committees for coordination and monitoring the drive and ensure that there is minimum disruption in other health services.

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Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the festive season, pollution and fall in temperature were behind the fresh surge in coronavirus cases in the Capital, ANI reported. Jain also said that people had started ignoring safety precautions like wearing masks.

Jain’s remark came a day after Delhi recorded its biggest single-day rise of 5,891 coronavirus cases. Friday was the third consecutive day that the Capital registered a record number of cases. Delhi’s tally stood at 3,81,644, while the toll reached 6,470.

The Indian Council of Medical Research said that over 10.67 lakh samples were tested for the coronavirus on Friday. India total tests crossed 10.84 crore.

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The number of coronavirus cases in the United States crossed 90 lakh on Friday as it reported its biggest one-day rise of over 94,000 new cases, according to The Guardian. The country’s toll stood at 2,29,594.

Britain is likely to impose a new national lockdown next week, amid a surge in cases, The Times reported. The new restrictions could remain in force till December 1.

Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 4.54 crore people and killed 11,87,550, according to the Johns Hopkins University. Over 2.95 crore people have recovered from the infection.