New cases of coronavirus infection in India were recorded over 1.27 lakh, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,81,75,044 according to the Union Health Ministry data.
The COVID-19 active caseload is 18,95,520 which now comprises 6.73 per cent of the total infections.
The recovery rate is 92.09 per cent, the data stated.
A total of 1,27,510 new infections were registered in a day, while the death count increased to 3,31,895 with 2,795 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 variant first found in India will henceforth be referred to as the "Delta variant", the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday. India had on May 12 objected to it, identified as B.1.617 till now, being labelled the "Indian variant". The world health body had earlier said that viruses or variants should not be identified by the names of countries they were found in.
"The labels don't replace existing scientific names, which convey important scientific information and will continue to be used in research. No country should be stigmatised for detecting and reporting Covid variants," said Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical lead COVID-19 at WHO.
The established nomenclature systems for naming and tracking of SARS-CoV-2 genetic lineages will remain in use by scientists and in scientific research, the WHO has said. A group convened by WHO has recommended using letters of the Greek alphabet, that is Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and so on. This "will be easier and more practical to be discussed by non-scientific audiences," it said.
Here are the Highlights on Covid-19 Cases in India:
Gujarat | Women frontline workers at GMC Surat conduct RT-PCR test, which is 1st testing lab in city, &3rd in state. "We're female workers here, so it was difficult to balance work&home, but we managed. In 2nd wave, maximum 3,000 cases have been tested in a day here:Nodal officer pic.twitter.com/TuFSmH6AJH
- ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2021
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Tuesday said it had started scrutiny of documents of nine of the ten entities which responded to a global Expression of Interest to supply one crore COVID-19 vaccine doses for Mumbai.
A BMC release said seven of these nine entities, whose documents are being scrutinised, have shown interest in supplying Sputnik V vaccine, while two have elicited interest in providing Sputnik Light, a single dose vaccine.
The ninth entity had said it was ready to supply whichever vaccine was available, the civic release said.
The tenth firm has backed out of the EoI, the BMC further informed.
Mumbai reported 831 new COVID-19 cases and 23 fresh fatalities on Tuesday, taking the infection tally to 7,07,082 and the death count to 14,907, the city civic body said.
The financial capital of the county reported 155 more new cases, but six lesser deaths as compared to May 31, when the city had witnessed 676 infections and 29 fatalities.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)'s updated data, the city reported 831 new cases after 23,503 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.
Continuing its support to India to fight the COVID-19 surge, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday said that another shipment of Sputnik V vaccine has been sent to India as Russia is committed to help Indian friends in these difficult times.
"Today, we have sent another shipment of Sputnik V vaccine to India as a follow up to massive steps we have made to provide assistance to India," replied Lavrov to ANI query regarding Sputnik V during a press conference after the BRICS meeting.
"Russia is committed to help our Indian friends in fighting this dangerous virus (COVID-19)," he added.
Hospitals across Delhi have started ramping up infrastructure to ensure availability of essential equipment, drugs and ICU beds for children as part of their plan to tackle a possible third wave of the coronavirus.
The Delhi government has set up a task force to suggest measures to protect children from the third wave. Most of the hospitals are focussing on ramping up their ICU beds and facilities for children, amid fears that the third wave might be fatal for them.
Dr P K Bhardwaj, Chief Executive Director of Saroj Super Specialty Hospital in Rohini, said the plan is to improve the infrastructure in the paediatric ICU and neonatal ICU.
The hospital has been preparing infrastructure keeping in mind that an attendant will have to be kept with their Covid-positive child, he said.
People travelling abroad for education and employment have been included in the vaccine priority list in Karnataka, as many countries have made full inoculations against the coronavirus mandatory for entry.
Dr Ashwath Narayan, Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister, said the vaccination drive for students going to study in foreign universities and those who need to travel abroad for employment, will be launched today at the Bengaluru University Centre.
#FYI | Dr Sumit Ray, Holy Family Hospital, Delhi, on whether antibody cocktail will work against #COVID19 variants. pic.twitter.com/agQkrEpJxZ
- NDTV (@ndtv) June 1, 2021
Odisha on Tuesday wrote to the Centre proposing country-level procurement of global COVID-19 vaccines by the union government stating that it would be "faster and economical". The Odisha government said it will bear the cost of the vaccines for the people of the state.
In a letter to Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Odisha's Health Minister Naba Kishore Das said the state may be given flexibility to design and decide on distribution of vaccines taking local factors into consideration. He said the state government cannot make online registration mandatory in hill areas where connectivity is poor.
One crore Covid vaccines will be available every day by mid-July, or early-August, ICMR chief Dr Balram Bhargava said Tuesday afternoon, as the centre doubled down on its stated aim of vaccinating the whole country - around 108 crore people - by the end of the year.
He also said increased testing and strict containment had helped control the second wave but warned against relying on such measures, saying that "it is not a sustainable solution".
The Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar has taken his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister had received his first dose of the vaccine on April 30, after which he urged people to encourage others to do the same.
"Let us contribute towards building a safe nation and making India corona-free. Today I have taken first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. I appeal to the people of the state, to take the vaccine and encourage others around you to do the same," Mr Khattar tweeted in Hindi after taking first dose.
"By July or early August we will have enough COVID-19 #vaccine to inoculate 1 crore people per day": Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR pic.twitter.com/KQY8aE2X1I
- NDTV (@ndtv) June 1, 2021
The sarpach of Ambapuram in rural Andhra Pradesh, in a noble gesture, purchased an ambulance worth Rs 4 lakh with his own mooney to help people in his village and surrounding areas during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The sarpanch Gandikota Sitaiah said that he was concerned with the plight of people who faced difficulties when they had to hail ambulances to ferry patients to hospitals. There was also the high costs to hiring an ambulance with people having to pay rates as high as Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 for the service.
Sitaiah, who recently got elected as a Sarpanch said that the ambulance he purchased for the village will providing free service to those who cannot afford to avail its services.
The government will conduct a fourth national sero survey to monitor the spread of the SARS-CoV2 virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease, and prep for a potential third wave of infections.
The sampling of children comes amid global concerns the virus is targeting kids as it mutates; several countries, including Singapore, have already reported cases among younger citizens.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday inaugurated 270-bed COVID care center at Jindal Steel and Power Plant in Angul district and said that the corporate will also assist for socio-economic development and health in the state.
In view of the growing covid infection in Anugul district @JSPLCorporate I inaugurated a 270-bed oxygen-assisted Covid Care Center in the area," tweeted the Union Minister.
He further assured that Angul will see no shortage of health infrastructure as corporate institutions are contributing towards combating the pandemic.
Uttar Pradesh: Curbs eased in districts with less than 600 #COVID19 cases
- NDTV (@ndtv) June 1, 2021
NDTV's Alok Pandey reports pic.twitter.com/5kqXRGIUcj