India reported 70,421 new COVID-19 cases and 3,921 new deaths today. The daily case count has been on a downward trajectory. The country has so far reported a total of 2,95,10,410 cases and 3,74,305 deaths.
India's daily test positivity rate - number of positive cases identified per 100 - continues to decline. For the seventh straight day, it was below the 5 per cent mark at 4.71 per cent.
Tamil Nadu added 14,106 cases to the country's daily numbers. It was followed by Kerala (11,584 cases) and Maharashtra (10,442 cases).
Shops, malls and restaurants in Delhi will open from today as Covid numbers in the national capital drop to a three-month low. Shops will be open seven days a week instead of the earlier odd-even system. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has cautioned this will be on trial basis for a week and strict action will be taken if the Covid numbers rise.
The Haryana government has extended the statewide COVID-19 lockdown by a week, till June 21, allowing a few relaxations amid a dip in the daily cases. Doing away with the odd-even formula, the state government allowed all shops to open from 9 am to 8 pm, an official order said.
The office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the government on Sunday said ''Project O2 for India'' has been initiated to ensure supply of critical raw materials such as zeolites, setting up of small oxygen plants, and manufacturing of compressors. The second wave of COVID-19 saw an increase in demand for medical oxygen in different parts of the country.
A proposal by India and South Africa to temporarily waive patents on COVID-19 vaccines to ensure their equitable access received widespread support at the G7 summit in the UK, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday. In a virtual address at an inaugural outreach session of the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought the support of the grouping to lift patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines.
Russian Covid vaccine Sputnik V will be available in Delhi from June 15. The place where the two-dose vaccine will be available is the Indraprastha Apollo hospital in south Delhi. Sputnik has been priced at ₹ 1,145, which will contain hospital charges and tax.
Bikaner in Rajasthan is set to become the first city in the country to launch a door-to-door Covid vaccination drive. The exercise, scheduled to start today, will be for people in the 45+ age group. While the vaccine van will go from one address to the next after administering the shot, a medical team will stay with the person for observation.
Most states are easing the COVID-19 curbs, which they first started imposing in mid-April, in a staggered manner, confining it to districts with low positivity rates and active cases and continuing with restrictions like the closure of schools and colleges and night curfew.
The daily cases peaked on May 7 when the country registered 4,14,188 infections in a span of 24 hours, while daily deaths were the highest on May 19 with India reporting 4,529 fatalities due to COVID-19.
Source: NDTV