Coronavirus live updates: Maharashtra reports 31,855 new Covid cases in highest single-day spike

Delhi reported 1,101 fresh cases, 620 recoveries and 4 deaths in the last 24 hours

One of the biggest mysteries of the Covid-19 infection in India relative to other countries like the US and UK has been the lower mortality recorded in India. An explanation has been posited in a study carried out by scientists of National Institute of Immunology and AIIMS and published in Frontiers in Immunology, a top-rated medical journal. The researchers found that 66% of blood and plasma samples collected in pre-Covid times from the individuals with no history of exposure to the coronavirus had high frequency of CD4+T cells that responded robustly to the non-spike domain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

Over 7.47 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been supplied to states and Union Territories so far, while 595.91 lakh have been sent to other countries till March 17, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. External supplies of Made in India COVID-19 vaccines started from January 20. Supplies have been undertaken in form of grants-in-aid, commercial sales by manufacturers and through vaccine alliance GAVI's COVAX facility, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey said in a written reply.

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday said the Delhi government has urged the Centre to allow everyone aged above 18 to take the COVID-19 vaccine as such a step will set an example for the entire world. "The Centre has allowed vaccination for everyone aged above 45 from April 1. We have demanded that vaccines be given to everyone aged above 18. It will set an example for the entire world to defeat coronavirus," he tweeted.

All educational institutions in Telangana would be temporarily closed from Wednesday and offer online classes to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the wake of a spurt in fresh cases in recent days, including from some schools, the state government said. Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy said the closure order will be applicable to all government and private run educational institutions, hostels and gurukul institutions, barring medical colleges. Online classes shall continue for students, she said.

Regular offline classes for college students would continue in Karnataka and semester examinations held as per the time table of universities, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan said on Tuesday. After chairing a meeting to assess the COVID-19 situation in view of recent spurt in fresh cases in the state, Narayan, who holds the higher education portfolio, said it was decided offline classes will continue with strict implementation of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for COVID-19.

However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on case to case basis: DGCA