The coronavirus tally in India crossed the 48 lakh-mark with 92,071 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. As many as 1,136 deaths were reported on Sunday, taking the toll to 79,722. Of the 48,46,427 infections, 9,86,598 are active cases, while 37,80,107 patients have been discharged.
A historic 18-day session of Parliament began on Monday with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing the implementation of a range of first-time measures and the exclusion of several significant conventions. The customary all-party meeting of the government was not held this time and the session will be curtailed to four-hour sessions for each house for seven days a week. Ahead of the Monsoon Session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday exuded confidence that members of Parliament will speak in one voice to express their solidarity with the soldiers guarding the country’s borders.
Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that a COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be available in India by early next year and the government is considering its emergency authorisation for high-risk settings. While answering the questions sent to him by people across the country on social media, he also said that if needed, he will take the first shot to allay public concerns over safety of the vaccine.
India on Monday overtook Brazil to register the highest number of COVID-19 recoveries in the world at 37,80,107, according to Johns Hopkins University data. According to data, 19,625,959 people around the world have recovered from the coronavirus infection while the total number of COVID-19 cases across the world are 29,006,033 and the total number of deaths reported globally stands at 9,24,105. Johns Hopkins University, which has been compiling COVID-19 data from all over the world, put India in the number one position in terms of the number of recovered coronavirus cases at 37,80,107, followed by Brazil at 37,23,206 cases and the US at 24,51,406 cases. According to the Union Health Ministry, India's recovery rate has touched 78 per cent reflecting the increasing number of high recoveries per day.
