A look at the biggest Covid-19 developments of the day:

  1. India on Tuesday recorded 3,29,942 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally of infections in the country to 2,29,92,517 since the pandemic broke out in the country in January 2020. The toll climbed by 3,876 to 2,49,992.
  2. The governments of Delhi, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Tuesday said they will issue global tenders for procurement of Covid vaccines as the domestic supply fails to keep up with the rising demand amid the fierce second wave of the pandemic, reported PTI. 
  3. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the government will have to temporarily halt the vaccination drive for the 18 to 45 age group because of vaccine shortages. Meanwhile, Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray said that Mumbai’s civic body has been asked to look into the possibility of procuring Covid-19 vaccines from other countries, to make up for shortages.
  4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided he will not travel to the United Kingdom to participate in this year’s Group of Seven Summit, in view of the prevailing coronavirus crisis in the country.
  5. Twenty-six coronavirus patients died at the state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital between 2 am and 6 am, said Health Minister Vishwajit Rane. But the cause of death was not clear.
  6. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the Centre to allow more companies to produce coronavirus vaccines to address the shortage of doses amid the massive surge in coronavirus cases in India. Presently, only Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and the Serum Institute of India in Pune are manufacturing vaccine doses for India’s inoculation drive.
  7. Rapid Antigen Tests will now be allowed at all government and private health facilities to accelerate testing, the Union health ministry said. Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Dr Balram Bhargava said there was no accreditation required.
  8. The Telangana government announced a 10-day lockdown in the state to rein in the sudden surge in coronavirus cases. The new curbs will come into effect from Wednesday and will be in force till May 22.
  9. The Bombay High Court pulled up the Goa government for not fully complying with its order to make negative Covid test reports mandatory for every person entering the state, except in case of medical emergencies.
  10. The coronavirus has now infected 15.86 crore people across the world and killed over 32.99 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University. Over 9.46 crore people have recovered from the infection.