1. Political rallies, religious gatherings and the farmers’ protest have proved to be super-spreaders of the coronavirus, chairperson of the Covid-19 working group of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, NK Arora, told ANI on Wednesday. Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief ElectoralOfficer Aariz Aftab called an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss the implementation of safety protocols during campaigning for the four pending phases of Assembly polls. 
  2. India on Wednesday reported 1,84,372 new Covid-19 infections – the highest single-day rise in cases since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. The overall case count rose to 1,38,73,825. With 1,027 more deaths in 24 hours, the toll went up to 1,72,085. Active cases stood at 13,65,704, while 1,23,36,036 people have recovered from the disease. Over 11.09 crore doses of the vaccine have been administered and more than 1.31 crore people have received both the shots, the government said.
  3. Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka reported a record increase in coronavirus cases. The Rajasthan government imposed a night curfew in all cities from 6 pm to 6 am. The curfew will stay in effect from April 16 to 30. 
  4. Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firm Dr Reddy’s Laboratories will begin importing Russia’s coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V, in the April-June quarter, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. Sputnik V is the third vaccine to receive emergency-use authorisation in India, after Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. 
  5. The Centre cancelled Central Board of Secondary exams for Class 10 and postponed the Class 12 exams amid the surge in number of coronavirus cases. Results for the Class 10 examination will be prepared on the basis of an “objective criterion” developed by the CBSE. For Class 12 exams, a decision will be taken after reviewing the situation on June 1.
  6. Virologist Dr Shahid Jameel said that the second wave of coronavirus in India could last till the end of May and the daily count of infections might go up to 3 lakh, News18 reported. 
  7. The Delhi government attached schools, banquet halls, and sports complexes to hospitals to increase bed capacity amid the surge in coronavirus cases, NDTV reported. 
  8. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tested positive for the virus. The state has reported a surge in coronavirus cases. On Wednesday, it recorded 20,510 new cases, the highest-ever rise so far. Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kaushal Kishore has appealed to the Election Commission to postpone the panchayat polls by a month in view of the coronavirus situation. He said that the situation in state capital Lucknow was out of control. 
  9. Denmark became the first country to completely stop using AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine over blood clot fears, Reuters reported. 
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 13.72 crore people and killed 29,56,845 since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 7.81 crore people have recovered from the infection.