India on Tuesday reported 26,964 new Covid-19 infections.

India on Tuesday reported 26,964 new Covid-19 infections. Active cases have come down to 3.01 lakh; number of deaths reported on Tuesday were 383, pushing the total death toll to 4.45 lakhs.

Whereas, Kerala recorded 15,768 Covid-19 cases reflecting decline in active cases, which at present is 1.61 lakh. Kerala also reported 214 deaths due to Covid-19 infection. Two days after India announced its decision to resume its flagship Vaccine Maitri initiative, World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. “Thank you Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya for announcing India will resume crucial COVID vaccine shipments to COVAX in Oct. This is an important development in support of reaching 40% vaccination target in all countries by the end of the year,” he said. The initiative, through which 6.63 crore doses were exported, came to a halt in May, with India facing a severe shortage for its immunisation programme amid a surging second wave. On the global front, China’s northeastern city of Harbin, population 10 million, went into semi-shutdown after reporting new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases for the first time since early February. Brazil’s Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga tested positive for COVID-19 hours after accompanying President Jair Bolsonaro to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.