As India battles the second wave of Coronavirus infection, around 1,26,789 fresh Covid-19 cases were reported today. In the last 24 hours, nearly 685 deaths were reported pushing the death count to 1,66, 862.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at Delhi's AIIMS today. He tweeted, "Vaccination is among the few ways we have, to defeat the virus. If you are eligible for the vaccine, get your shot soon. Register on CoWin.gov.in." He received his first vaccine shot on March 1. Today, the Prime Minister has called for all Chief Ministers' meet to discuss the measures to control the crisis created following the outbreak of the pandemic.
According to reports, vaccination distribution was halted in parts of Maharashtra, the country's worst-hit state, due to the unavailability of vaccination. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule tweeted that over 100 vaccination centres in Pune closed due to shortage. However, while interacting with a media organisation, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that "there is no shortage" of vaccines and states are provided with vaccines based on their requirements. Stocks are continuously replenished, he said.
As the number of cases is doubling with no time, New Zealand has temporarily banned the arrival of Indian travellers, including its own citizens, for about two weeks. The move comes following 23 new Covid-19 cases recorded in New Zealand on Thursday, of which 17 were from India.
In Uttar Pradesh, a night curfew has been imposed in Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi and Prayagraj due to rising Covid-19 cases. Punjab too has declared a series of restrictions including night curfew across the whole state.
