Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday attended a meeting of the G20 High-Level Independent Panel (HLIP) and shared India's preparedness and response to Covid-19 while highlighting the slew of measures undertaken to support the economy during the pandemic.
In a sign of improvement from the sweeping second wave of the pandemic, the Covid-19 cases and deaths in Maharashtra dropped significantly on Monday.
The total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country so far has exceeded 35.71 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.
According to a provisional report published at 7 pm, more than 41.34 lakh vaccine doses have been administered on Monday. In the age group of 18-44 years, 18,30,741 people got first dose of the vaccine and 1,40,368 received the second dose on Monday.
The Kerala government on Monday said it would increase Covid-19 tests in the northern districts of the state, where cases are comparitively higher than other areas.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, speaking at a high-level meeting to evaluate the pandemic situation in the state, said the government would look into the reasons behind the increase in Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasaragod and Wayanad districts.
Malappuram has the highest number of active cases in the state--13,722, followed by neighbouring Kozhikode with 13,122. Wayanad, which has the lowest number of active cases in the state--3,191, reported 138 new cases today.
The Delta variant of coronavirus is eight times less sensitive to antibodies generated by vaccines as compared to the original strain that came from China's Wuhan, according to a new study.