As the country battles the second wave of Covid, the WHO has said only one strain of the Covid-19 Delta variant first detected in India is now considered “of concern”. “It has become evident greater public health risks are currently associated with B.1.617.2, while lower rates of transmission of other lineages have been observed,” the WHO said, news agency AFP reported.
India has seen a drop in daily cases over the last few days after witnessing a grim global record with 4.14 lakh cases in a day last month. The country now has 17,93,645 active cases, the Health Ministry said.
The country’s positivity rate stood at 6.57 per cent this morning. Tamil Nadu logged the highest number of cases with 26,513 infections. Chief Minister MK Stalin yesterday said lockdown can’t remain an option.
The government has cancelled the CBSE exams for Class 12 amid growing demands. “Government of India has decided to cancel the Class XII CBSE board exams. After extensive consultations, we have taken a decision that is student-friendly, one that safeguards the health as well as future of our youth (sic),” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Tuesday evening.
The centre is trying to pace up the vaccination drive after setting an ambitious goal of vaccinating the entire country by the end of this year.
One crore Covid vaccines will be available every day by mid-July, or early-August, ICMR chief Dr Balram Bhargava said Tuesday afternoon.
The drug regulator has done away with the requirement of India-specific trials in a big move to clear the way for foreign vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna.
Fourth national sero survey to monitor the spread of the SARS-CoV2 virus will be conducted in June.
The Union Health Ministry indicated on Tuesday that cases of Covid in children are being keenly observed. While the first Covid wave had mainly targetted the elderly, the second wave took a toll on the younger population.
Across the world, 17.11 crore Covid cases have been logged since the pandemic broke; 35.64 lakh deaths have been recorded so far.
