1. India on Thursday set a grave new milestone by recording 3.14 lakh new Covid-19 cases – the world’s highest single-day rise in infections since the virus first surfaced in China last year. The country now has 1,59,30,965 total cases. For the first time, 2,104 deaths were recorded and the toll rose to 1,84,657. The second wave of the pandemic is rapidly worsening with the country reporting over 2 lakh cases everyday since April 15.
  2. The Bombay High Court asked the Union government to reconsider its stand that door-to-door vaccination was not feasible, saying it should think about the plight of the elderly and disabled, PTI reported. A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni said the government cannot just “leave old people to die”.
  3. Saroj Super Specialty Hospital in Delhi’s Rohini area moved the High Court seeking urgent supply of oxygen to critical coronavirus patients, PTI reported. It said that as of 10 am on Thursday morning, the hospital had only medical oxygen supply of 60 minutes left. A plea by the hospital said it has taken the desperate back up measure of using oxygen cylinder support which will last another few hours at the most and is likely to run out in the afternoon. This came a day after Max Hospitals moved the High Court as it was running out of oxygen.
  4. The Supreme Court sought a “national plan” from the Centre after taking cognisance of matters related to supply of oxygen, essential drugs, method and manner of vaccination and the power of state government’s to impose lockdown. A bench led by Chief Justice SA Bobde directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the cases related to the management of pandemic before the High Courts be withdrawn as it will create confusion.
  5. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a reduction in flights from high-risk countries, including India, PTI reported. “We will also be limiting the departure exceptions for Australians travelling to high-risk countries to India,” he added. “As time goes on, and the pandemic continues to rage, there are countries that are frankly of greater risk than others.”
  6. The Centre said all Indian adults can register to get their coronavirus vaccine on the government’s Co-WIN portal or the Aarogya Setu app from April 28. Everyone above 18 years of age can get vaccinated from May 1 in the Indian government’s third phase of inoculation. Only those over 45 and frontline workers were being vaccinated against the disease so far.
  7. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer will supply its coronavirus vaccine only through government channel in India. This means that the vaccine of the United States-based company may not be available through private hospitals unless the central or state governments sell doses to these medical facilities.
  8. Communist Party of India (Marxist) Secretary General Sitaram Yechury’s son died due to the coronavirus. Ashish Yechury, 35, had been admitted to the Holy Family hospital in Delhi two weeks ago but was later moved to the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. He worked at online platform Newslaundry in Delhi.
  9. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot sought free coronavirus vaccination for those over 18 years from the Centre and said there should be uniform policy for citizens belonging to different age groups.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 14.35 crore people and killed over 30.55 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 8.22 crore people have recovered from the infection.