1.65 lakh new Covid cases in India, 3,460 more deaths

India recorded less than 2 lakh Covid cases for the third consecutive day with 1.65 lakh fresh infections, taking the overall case count to 2.78 crore, reports NDTV.

The positivity rate remained below 10 per cent for the sixth straight day amid the battle against a second wave.

However, the daily death toll remained above 3,000 as the country reported 3,460 fatalities in the last 24 hours till Sunday morning, reports Times of India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet last evening said that the government will provide support to children who have lost their parents to Covid. Free education will be ensured for them and they will get help in seeking higher education loans, an official statement read.

"It is our duty, as a society, to care for our children and instil hope for a bright future," the Prime Minister said. Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra among other states have also announced relief measures for such children.

The health ministry on Saturday evening wrote to all states on some private hospitals giving vaccination in collaboration with luxury hotels. It's against the guidelines issued for the National Covid Vaccination Program, the government insisted.

Delhi and Kerala have extended restrictions to check the spread of coronavirus. In the national capital, manufacturing and construction businesses have been allowed to resume work with conditions.

The central government on Saturday said that the production of anti-viral drug Remdesivir - used in the treatment of Covid patients has been ramped up 10 times from 33,000 vials per day on April 11 to 3.5 lakh vials every day. The centre will no longer allocate the drug to centre, considering the supply is more than the demand.

India has so far vaccinated 21 crore people. The government aims to vaccinate the entire country by the end of this year.

The country is looking to vaccinate 1 crore people by the end of July, AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria told NDTV on Saturday, stressing that from 33,000 vials per day on April 11 to 3.5 lakh vials every day.

The Pfizer vaccine is slightly less effective but appears to still protect against the more transmissible Covid variant found in India, according to a study by France's Pasteur Institute, news agency AFP reported.