India on Sunday morning recorded 50,040 new coronavirus cases, pushing the infection tally in the country to 3,02,33,183 since the pandemic broke out in January last year. The toll climbed to 3,95,751 after 1,258 citizens died of the infection in the last 24 hours.

The active cases tally dropped to 5,86,403. As many as 2,92,51,029 patients have recovered from the infection. India has so far administered 32,17,60,077 Covid-19 vaccine doses, with 64,25,893 shots given on Saturday alone.

The Indian Council for Medical Research said that 40,42,65,101 tests have been conducted till Saturday. Of this, 17,77,309 tests were done on June 26.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed satisfaction at the pace of Covid-19 vaccination in this week, his office said. He was holding a review meeting on the progress of vaccination and the Covid-19 situation in the country.

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On the same day, the Centre told the Supreme Court that a coronavirus vaccine developed by Indian pharmaceutical company Zydus Cadila will soon be available for children aged 12-18 years. The Centre also said that 135 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be available by December 2021.

Globally, the coronavirus disease has infected over 18.07 crore people and killed more than 39.15 lakh since the pandemic broke out in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Here are the top updates from Saturday

  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences chief Dr Randeep Guleria said mixing Covid-19 vaccines might help create better immunity but more information was needed before making a final decision on that, NDTV reported.
  • Delhi reported 85 new coronavirus cases, taking its total count of infections since the outbreak of the pandemic to 14,33,675. This the Capital’s lowest daily rise in cases since May last year. The city’s toll rose by nine to 24,961.
  • All India Institute Of Medical Science chief Dr Randeep Guleria said it would not be accurate to conclude that the Delhi government had exaggerated its oxygen demand during the peak of the second wave of the Covid-19 crisis.
  • The Uttarakhand government decided to open the Char Dham Yatra only for residents of Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts, where the Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines are located.
  • World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus criticised rich countries for their reluctance in sharing Covid-19 vaccines with the low-income ones, adding that vaccine inequity had exposed the unfairness of the world.