Coronavirus: Maharashtra registers a dip in new cases as fewer tests reported

10.20 pm: Maharashtra reports 48,700 new Covid-19 cases, 71,736 recoveries and 524 deaths in 24 hours, reports ANI, citing a state health department bulletin. The total cases stand at 43,43,727, including 6,74,770 active ones, 36,01,796 recoveries and the toll is 65,284.

10.18 pm: All liquor stores in Puducherry to remain shut till midnight of April 30, reports ANI, citing a government order.

10.15 pm: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says it is pleasing to see small declines in cases and deaths in several regions, reports ANI. “...but many countries are still experiencing intense Covid-19 transmission, and the situation in India is beyond heartbreaking,” he says.

8.12 pm: Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar says all shops in the state will be open till 5 pm, reports PTI.

8.06 pm: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announces daily restrictions on movement in the state from 6 pm to 5 am. “Due to continuous and rapid rise of Covid-19 cases in Punjab, Cabinet today has decided to impose daily lockdown from 6 pm to 5 am and weekend lockdown from Friday 6 pm to Monday 5 am,” the chief minister tweets. “Urge you all to stay at home and step out only if absolutely necessary. Seek your full cooperation.”

8.01 pm: Rajasthan has fixed the maximum rates of ambulances and vehicles used to carry bodies in the state, reports PTI. Fares of both types of vehicles have been made uniform, under which Rs 500 will be the cost for the first 10 kilometres. Apart from this, an additional fee of Rs 350 will be charged for a PPE kit and sanitisation.

7.59 pm: The Railways says it has transported more than 302 tonnes of oxygen to various states across India, reports PTI. It adds that 154 additional tonnes is enroute to the regions in need.

7.58 pm: New oxygen plants will be set up at hospitals in the city and other centres in Dakshina Kannada district, Mangaluru city (south) MLA D Vedavyas Kamath says, reports PTI.

7.56 pm: Chandigarh records 821 new cases and five deaths today. The total number of cases rises to 39,513, active cases stand at 5,575.

7.54 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 15,684 new Covid-19 cases, 13,625 recoveries and 94 deaths in 24 hours, reports ANI. The state tally rises to 10,97,672 and the toll to 13,651.

7.54 pm: US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield tweets: “We are doing everything we can to help with the heartbreaking Covid-19 situation in India, including deploying vaccine materials, therapeutics, ventilators, public health teams, and financial support. We will work around the clock to help alleviate the suffering.”

7.51 pm: Himachal Pradesh registers 1,692 new Covid-19 cases, 916 recoveries, 27 deaths, reports ANI. The overall number of Covid-19 cases are 89,193 and 14,326 of them are active.

7.48 pm: Uttar Pradesh reports 33,574 new cases, 249 deaths and 26,719 recoveries in 24 hours, reports ANI, citing a health department bulletin.

7.45 pm: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath says in the last three days, new Covid-19 cases have gone down in the state. “There is no shortage of beds, oxygen and life-saving drugs in the state,” he claims, according to ANI.

7.43 pm: In Uttar Pradesh, Mathura’s Nayati Hospital has been facing an acute shortage of oxygen, reports NDTV. “We have arranged 70 cylinders for now,” says hospital official MK Sarna. “It will last three hours. A 16-tonne tanker has been sent but we will get only eight metric tonnes out of it. We have 98 critical patients who require oxygen.”

7.07 pm: Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh says in 15 out of 36 districts in the state, the number of recoveries is higher than patients getting admitted to hospitals, reports PTI.

7.05 pm: Five coronavirus patients die at a private hospital in Haryana’s Hisar, reports PTI. The kin of the deceased allege that they died due to shortage of medical oxygen at the facility. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar orders a magisterial probe, but rules out any shortage of medical oxygen in the state.

7.03 pm: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar holds high-level meeting on the Covid surge in his state, reports PTI.

7.02 pm: Rajasthan registers 16,438 new coronavirus cases, 6,416 recoveries and 84 deaths in the last 24 hours.

6.59 pm: Goa logs 2,321 fresh infections and 38 deaths.

6.58 pm: Manipur reports 146 new cases, 36 recoveries and five deaths.

6.50 pm: Noida Metro decides to suspend services during weekend curfew.

6.47 pm: At an all-party meeting, the Kerala government decided not to impose a complete lockdown. However, existing restrictions on weekends and at night, from 9 pm to 6 am, will continue. “All political parties that took part in the meeting were of the opinion that there is no need for a complete lockdown,” said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, reports The News Minute. “However, it has been decided to strictly enforce certain restrictions.”

All the political parties also agreed to not organise any major celebrations on May 2, when the results of the Assembly elections will be announced. “Only counting officials, counting agent of political parties and media persons will be allowed at counting centres,” Vijayan says. “However, they have to produce a negative RT-PCR test report or report of two doses of Covid-19 vaccine.”

6.45 pm: The Kerala government announces fresh curbs, reports ANI. Cinema halls, malls, gyms, clubs, sports complexes, swimming pools, entertainment parks and bars will remain shut until further orders. On weekends, only essential and emergency services will be permitted.

5.11 pm: Ladakh will provide free Covid-19 vaccine to all eligible residents aged between 18 and 45, announces Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur.

5.08 pm: The Chief Justice of India agrees to consider the Bar’s request to advance the summer break for the Supreme Court by a week amid the surge in Covid cases, reports Live Law.

5.01 pm: The Delhi High Court says it expects the Rajasthan government to honour the orders not to obstruct cryogenic tankers carrying medical oxygen for coronavirus to other states, reports Bar and Bench. It observes that any obstruction at this stage will tantamount to endangering hundreds of human lives.

4.50 pm: The Centre, citing research papers, says one person can infect 406 in 30 days if no physical distancing measures are followed, reports PTI.

4.48 pm: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has agreed to arrange emergency supplies of oxygen from his state to Delhi, reports ANI.

4.44 pm: Ministry of Home Affairs exempts three sectors – ampules & vials, pharmaceutical and defence forces – from its order dated April 25 limiting the use of liquid oxygen for medical purposes only.

4.40 pm: Air India brings 318 oxygen concentrators from New York to Delhi.

4.34 pm: Agarwal says quick transportation of oxygen is a challenge as most of the production facilities are in the east and central India. “9,103 tons of oxygen has been produced while our normal capacity is 7,259,” he adds. “We have gradually increased to these levels.”

4.31 pm: Union Health Ministry Joint secretary Lav Agrawal says the peaks in at least 6 states are bigger than their previous peaks in the first wave. “This is a matter of concern,” he adds, according to The Hindu. “Don’t be anxious. Don’t panic. Because of fear some are occupying beds and oxygen resources, when it’s not required. These should be used only if prescribed and we must follow guidelines and established clinical protocol norms.”

4.28 pm: The Ministry of Home Affairs says India is ordering oxygen tankers from abroad on a purchase or hiring basis. “The transportation of oxygen tankers is a major challenge,” says the additional secretary. “Using real-time tracking, we are monitoring the movement of oxygen tankers.”

4.26 pm: Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have more than 1 lakh active cases, according to the health ministry.

4.23 pm: The health ministry says over 14.19 crore vaccine doses have been administered till now.

4.20 pm: The Jammu and Kashmir orders all courts in the Union Territory to shift to the virtual mode till May 15.

3.53 pm: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa announces that his government will provide free vaccines to those between the age of 18 and 44 at all government vaccination centres.

3.45 pm: Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi discuss the operations undertaken by the armed forces to deal with the worsening Covid situation in India, reports ANI.

Rawat tells Modi that all medical personnel from armed forces who have retired or taken premature retirement in last two years are being recalled to work in Covid facilities. He adds that nursing personnel are being employed in large numbers to complement the doctors at the hospitals.

Rawat adds that all oxygen cylinders available with armed forces in various establishments will be released for use in hospitals.

3.41 pm: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee welcomes the Madras High Court’s observations about the Election Commission’s role in the surge of Covid cases in India, reports PTI.

Earlier in the day, the High Court said the Election Commission should be booked on charges of murder for allowing rallies to continue in poll-bound states, despite the unprecedented coronavirus situation.

Also read:

‘EC responsible for second wave of Covid, should be booked for murder probably’: Madras HC

2.30 pm: Karanataka announces 14-day lockdown from April 27, The News Minute reports quoting Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. Essential services will not be under restrictions and people will be allowed to shop between 6 am and 10 am.

Agriculture and manufacturing and construction sectors will also be allowed to function.

2.01 pm: Two Covid-19 patients reportedly died in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh early on Monday morning after a technical glitch disrupted oxygen supplies at the hospital that was treating them, The New Indian Express reports.

Authorities at the Maharaja Central Hospital, however, claim the deaths were not related to the oxygen crisis, even as 25 other Covid patients had to be shifted from there to another facility.

1.59 pm: Several Australian cricket players have withdrawn from the ongoing Indian Premier League amid fears that they may get locked out of their home countries as the pandemic in India worsens. Australia and Rajasthan Royals pacer Andrew Tye left on Sunday. On Monday, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson also withdrew from the tournament.

Read more here:

1. Andrew Tye withdrew to avoid being ‘locked out’, says more Australian players concerned
2. RCB’s Zampa and Richardson, RR’s Tye return to Australia citing personal reasons

1.52 pm: Australia will send oxygen, ventilators and personal protective equipment to India to help the country battling the latest surge of coronavirus cases, PTI reports. “India is literally gasping for oxygen,” Health Minister Greg Hunt says.

1.48 pm: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren urges his Gujarat counterpart Vijay Rupani to take note of the delays in the delivery of liquid medical oxygen tanks, cylinders and vaporizers from Gujarat, ANI reports.

1.46 pm: More than 600 police personnel have contracted the coronavirus infection in Uttarakhand, ANI reports.

1.43 pm: Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda writes to Narendra Modi with suggestions to tackle the pandemic. “If the government decides to give vaccines free to all citizens, that would be a great humanitarian gesture,” he says.

1.42 pm: The Uttar Pradesh government says Chief Minister Adityanath has asked officers to ensure that no hospital denies admission to Covid patients if a bed is available, ANI reports.

1.37 pm: An all-party meeting convened in Tamil Nadu has decided to allow Vedanta’s Sterlite copper unit in Tuticorin to produce oxygen for four months, PTI reports.

The Supreme Court last week suggested that the state take over the plant while hearing a plea by Vedanta seeking opening of its Sterlite copper unit at Tuticorin on the grounds that it would produce oxygen and give it free of cost to treat coronavirus patients. While the Centre had backed the plea, the Tamil Nadu government had opposed it.

1.27 pm: Sixteen critically ill Covid patients were rescued after a fire broke out in the ICU of a private hospital in Surat on Sunday night, PTI reports. They were later moved to safer areas.

1.25 pm: A special train carrying three tankers loaded with liquid medical oxygen reaches Kalamboli near Mumbai in Maharashtra from Jamnagar in Gujarat, PTI reports. These special trains, called the Oxygen Express, were begun by the Indian Railways to help states dealing with oxygen shortage amid the second wave of the pandemic.

1.23 pm: A Covid Care centre with 500 oxygen-supported beds run by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police begins functioning in Delhi’s Radha Soami Beas campus. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other officials visited the centre on Monday morning.

1.22 pm: As hospitals in India run out of medical oxygen in the midst of a massive second wave of Covid-19, a political war has broken out over who is responsible for the crisis.

Actor Kangana Ranaut tweeted on Saturday asking for accountability from Delhi and Maharashtra chief ministers for their failure to use the funds allocated by the Centre from the PM-Cares corpus for building PSA oxygen plants. Several news reports also cited anonymous sources in the central government blaming state governments for the delay in the installation of these plants.

But these claims are wrong, shows a Scroll.in fact check.

Read more here.

1.21 pm: There have been multiple reports about oxygen shortages in Uttar Pradesh, with patients saying they were turned away by hospitals as they had no beds or oxygen left to treat them. Distressing visuals also showed a patient dying on an auto-rickshaw after failing to find oxygen or an ambulance in Varanasi.

But Adityanath claimed that hospitals were lying about shortages to instill fear in the public. Saying that the actual problem is “black-marketing and hoarding”, the chief minister told journalists that the state government will conduct an audit of the life-saving gas in collaboration with various institutes.

Read more here:

For God’s sake recognise seriousness of situation, Priyanka Gandhi tells Adityanath on oxygen crisis

1.19 pm: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday said that only an “insensitive government” like that of Chief Minister Adityanath can claim there was no shortage of oxygen in Uttar Pradesh, even as authorities scrambled to get supplies while Covid-19 patients lay dying outside hospitals.

Read more here:

For God’s sake recognise seriousness of situation, Priyanka Gandhi tells Adityanath on oxygen crisis

1.17 pm: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday nudged people who can afford to get coronavirus shots at the rates offered by private vaccination centres to do so. He said it will leave state governments with the burden of providing the vaccines to only those who have not been covered by the Centre’s free vaccine programme or have not chosen to take the shot at private vaccine centres.

Read more here:

Covid-19: Those who can afford vaccines at private centres should go ahead, says health minister

12.36 pm: Ten states, meanwhile, account for 79.66% of the new deaths.

12.35 pm: The eight states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Kerala cumulatively account for 69.67% of India’s total active cases, the health ministry says.

12.34 pm: The Centre says 74% of Sunday’s cases were reported in ten states of Maharashtra. Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

12.28 pm: The Delhi High Court directs hospitals to “scrupulously follow” the government’s directions on not asking for Covid positive test reports before admitting symptomatic patients, PTI reports. The court also asks the government to widely publicise the order.

12.27 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal adds that new vaccines should soon be developed for children as well as many kids have been getting infected lately.

12.23 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urges vaccine manufacturers to bring down prices. “You have an entire lifetime to earn profits,” he says, according to ANI. “This is not the time to do that when there is a raging pandemic. I also appeal to the Central government to cap the price [of vaccines] if needed.”

Biotechnology company Bharat Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin, will cost Rs 600 per dose for state governments and Rs 1,200 for private companies. Serum Institute’s Covishield will be sold at Rs 400 a shot to state governments and Rs 600 to private hospitals starting May 1. Both vaccines will be priced at Rs 150 for the central government.

12.18 pm: “Public health is of paramount importance and it is distressing that constitutional authorities have to be reminded in such regard,” Madras High Court Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee tells the Election Commission, according to Live Law.

Banerjee adds: “It is only when a citizen survives that he’ll be able to enjoy the rights that a democratic republic guarantees. The situation now is of survival and protection. Everything else comes next.”

The court has directed the poll panel to submit by April 30 a plan to enforce Covid protocol on May 2.

12.16 pm: The Madras High Court says it will stop counting on May 2 if proper procedures are not in place, Live Law reports. Elections were held in Tamil Nadu on April 6.

12.14 pm: The Madras High Court criticises the Election Commission for allowing political rallies despite the pandemic, LiveLaw reports.

“Election Commission officers should be booked on murder charges probably,” says Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee. “Your institution is singularly responsible for the second wave of Covid-19.”

The court asks the poll panel: “Were you on another planet when the election rallies were held?”

12.10 pm: The Delhi High Court tells the Aam Aadmi Party government to upgrade the health infrastructure to increase Covid testing, ANI reports.

12.08 pm: The Delhi government announces free vaccines to everyone above 18, ANI reports. “Today we have given the approval for the purchase of 1.34 crore vaccines,” Chief MInister Arvind Kejriwal says. “We will make an effort to ensure that it is purchased soon and administered at the earliest to people.”

The governments of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana have also made similar announcements.

11.20 am: Whose intellectual property is Bharat Biotech’s publicly funded Covaxin? If it turns out that the ICMR or the government owns the rights, the Indian public has the right to know how these were leveraged during a pandemic, writes TISS professor R Ramakumar. Read more here.

11.19 am: In a Covid-19 war room in Mumbai, the pandemic feels interminable – but key lessons have been learnt. The municipal staff say strict triaging of patients is essential to ensure the best use of limited resources. Read more here.

11.15 am: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says all Indians should get the vaccine for free.

He says in Hindi on Twitter: “Enough of discussion. All residents of India should get the vaccine free, that’s all. Do not make India the victim of the BJP system!”

11.09 am: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday wrote to his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Adityanath seeking expert medical care and humane treatment for journalist Siddique Kappan, who contracted the coronavirus last week. The Malayalam journalist has been in prison since October for trying to report on the Hathras gangrape case.

Read more here:

Journalist Siddique Kappan gets Covid, Kerala CM writes to Adityanath seeking humane treatment

11.07 am: The governments of Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on Sunday said they will not be able to start vaccinating all adults from May 1 because the Centre had allegedly hijacked vaccine stocks from manufacturers, leaving very little for them.

Read more here:

Four Congress-ruled states say can’t begin vaccinating all from May 1 as Centre ‘hijacking stocks’

11.05 am: The Gujarat and Odisha governments announced on Sunday that they would provide vaccines free of cost for those above 18 from May 1, PTI reports.

The governments of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Sikkim, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana have also made similar announcements.

10.57 am: The Madhya Pradesh police will form a task force to check the black-marketing of antiviral drug remedesivir, PTI reports.

10.55 am: Telangana recorded 6,551 new Covid cases and 43 deaths on Sunday, ANI reports.

10.53 am: Former Jawaharlal Nehru University student Umar Khalid tests positive for the coronavirus, PTI reports. He is currently lodged in the Tihar jail in connection with the 2020 Delhi violence cases.

10.50 am: Bangladesh closes its border with India for 14 days in view of the raging pandemic, the Dhaka Tribune reports. Travelling through the land borders will be suspended till 6 pm on May 9. But the movement of cargo will continue, according to Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.

10.48 am: In Tamil Nadu, an all-party meeting is underway to discuss if the state government should take over Vedanta’s plant in the state to produce oxygen as the country battles a terrible second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Supreme Court last week suggested that the state take over the plant while hearing a plea by Vedanta seeking opening of its Sterlite copper unit at Tuticorin on the grounds that it would produce oxygen and give it free of cost to treat coronavirus patients. While the Centre has backed the plea, the Tamil Nadu government has opposed it.

10.47 am: As many as 318 oxygen concentrators are on their way to Delhi from the US, according to ANI.

On Sunday night, an Air India flight carrying 500 BiPAPs, 250 oxygen concentrators and other medical supplies from Singapore landed in Mumbai.

10.46 am: A special train carrying oxygen tankers from Bokaro in Jharkhand reaches Lucknow, ANI reports. Several states in India are facing an acute shortage of medical supply, including oxygen.

10.45 am: Here are some visuals of the lockdown in Delhi.

10.42 am: The Uttarakhand High Court will be closed till May 2 as the number of Covid cases rises, ANI reports. From May 3, hearings will take place via video conference.

10.40 am: As many as 27,93,21,177 samples have been tested for the coronavirus till Sunday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research. Of these 14,02,367 samples were tested on Sunday alone.

10.03 am: Microsoft chief Satya Nadella says his company will “continue to use its voice, resources and tech to aid relief efforts and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices” in India right now. Nadella says he is “heartbroken by the current situation” in India and adds that he is grateful that the US is assisting.

10 am: Google CEO Sundar Pichai says “Google and Googlers” are giving Rs 135 crore to GiveIndia, UNICEF, to help India during its worsening Covid crisis, ANI reports.

9.38 am: India reports 3,52,991 cases and 2,812 deaths in a day. With this, the total number of infections since the pandemic broke out in January 2020 rises to 1,73,13,163. This is the highest ever single-day rise in cases reported by any country so far, and the fifth consecutive day when the country has set such a grim global record.

The number of deaths registered is also a new record. The toll is now 1,95,123. The number of active cases rises to 28,13,658.

8.52 am: A curfew has been imposed in Kotdwar and Swargashram parts of Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand as coronavirus cases rise, ANI reports.

8.50 am: Canada also offers to help India through the crisis. “Our thoughts are with people of India as they face a devastating new wave of COVID19 pandemic,” Foreign Minister Marc Garneau says. “Canada stands ready to assist and has reached out to Indian authorities to determine how Canada can best support India in its time of need.”

8.45 am: Hours before Biden and Harris tweeted, the US National Security Advisor spoke to his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and promised to make available the raw material required to manufacture the Covishield vaccine.

“To help treat COVID-19 patients and protect front-line health workers in India, the United States has identified supplies of therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that will immediately be made available for India,” National Security Council Spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement.

“The United States also is pursuing options to provide oxygen generation and related supplies on an urgent basis,” the statement added. “The US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is funding a substantial expansion of manufacturing capability for BioE, the vaccine manufacturer in India, enabling BioE to ramp up to produce at least 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2022.”

8.40 am: This is the first time the US’ top leadership has reacted to the situation in India despite international coverage of the crisis.

It came merely hours after the United Kingdom, the European Union and Germany promised to help India tackle the second wave. Pakistan, France and China have also offered help.

Read more here:

Coronavirus: EU, United Kingdom to provide oxygen, ventilators to India as crisis deepens

8.30 am: United States President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday morning promised to help India in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Read more here:

Coronavirus: US determined to help India fight pandemic, say Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

8.20 am: Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 14.6 crore people and killed over 31 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 8.46 crore people have recovered from the infection.

Here are the top updates from Sunday

1. India on Sunday reported a record-breaking 3,49,691 new cases in a day, taking the total number of infections to 1,69,60,172 since the pandemic broke out in January 2020. This is the highest ever single-day rise in cases reported by any country so far, and the fourth consecutive day when the country has set such a grim global record. For the first time, 2,767 deaths were registered. The toll is now 1,92,311.
2. The Centre directed state governments to ensure that use of liquid oxygen was not allowed for any non-medical purpose as supplies were needed for Covid-19 patients amid a severe shortage in India.
3. Over 500 Pressure Swing Adsorption medical oxygen generation plants will be set up in public health facilities across the country through the PM Cares Fund amid a severe shortage of supplies, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens not to fall prey to rumours about coronavirus vaccines. India is set to begin the third phase of immunisation, covering all above 18 years, from May 1. The Union government said it was mandatory for those between 18 and 45 years to register themselves on the government’s Co-WIN portal or the Aarogya Setu app from April 28 for vaccination against the coronavirus, ANI reported. There will be no facility for walk-in registrations for beneficiaries in this age group.
5. The Maharashtra and Rajasthan governments said they will vaccinate all their citizens over 18 years for free.
6. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking immediate cancellation of the diversion of 80 metric tonnes of liquid oxygen from manufacturing facilities in his state to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
   
7. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal extended the lockdown in the national Capital till 5 am on May 3. The lockdown was earlier scheduled to end on Monday.
   
8. Congress leader Pawan Khera sent a legal notice to Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and social media platform Twitter for taking down his April 12 tweet on the surge of Covid-19 cases. The tweet had questioned the “complete silence” of the Union government in allowing the Kumbh Mela and election rallies to take place despite the worsening coronavirus situation in India.