Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla wrote to all States on Friday “to take necessary measures to regulate crowds” during upcoming festivals by enforcing COVID-19 appropriate behaviour such as wearing of mask and maintaining social distancing, as the country was passing through a critical juncture with the number of cases and deaths on the rise.

There was no direction for political rallies that are seeing huge crowds in poll-bound Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.

Here are the latest updates:

United Nations

UN expresses gratitude for India’s gift of 2 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses to peacekeepers

Top United Nations officials, including the UN peacekeeping chief, have expressed gratitude to India for its gift of 2,00,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses for peacekeepers, saying the donation will enable the Blue Helmets to continue their life-saving work in a safe manner.

The 2,00,000 doses of vaccines, announced as a gift by India for UN peacekeepers, left Mumbai in the early hours of March 27 and will arrive at Copenhagen, Denmark. They will then be distributed to all UN peacekeeping missions.

Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix and Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khare on March 26 hailed India’s contribution.

“An effective roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine to all peacekeepers is a key priority for the United Nations in order to protect our personnel and their capacity to continue their crucial work, help protect vulnerable communities and deliver on their mandates,” Mr. Lacroix said.

“India is a longstanding and steadfast supporter of Peacekeeping and I want to thank the Government and people of India, who have generously donated COVID-19 vaccines to benefit our peacekeeping personnel and enable them to continue their life-saving work in a safe manner.” Mr. Khare said, thanking India.

“This important donation will allow us to ensure that UN peacekeepers are able to remain healthy and deliver in some of the most difficult environments in the world without relying on already stretched national health systems or ongoing COVAX efforts.”

 

New Delhi

Country sees highest single-day rise in year

India saw 62,258 new coronavirus infections in a day, the highest single day rise so far this year, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,19,08,910, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday.

Registering a steady increase for the 17th day in row, the active cases have increased to 4,52,647 comprising 3.80 per cent of the total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 94.85 per cent, the data stated.

The 62,258 new cases were reported in a span of 24 hours, the highest since October 16, 2020, while the death toll increased to 1,61,240 with 291 daily new fatalities, the highest in around three months, the data updated at 8 am showed.

As many as 63,371 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours on October 16.

– PTI