Coronavirus in India: Maharashtra reports 9,844 Covid cases, Delhi 109

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday hinted that it is unlikely that local trains will start operating even if the ongoing restrictions are relaxed a bit after June 30, as that might spread the Covid-19 infection. People blocked railway tracks in several stations in the state for around three hours on Thursday demanding that they be allowed to board staff special stations.

Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Thursday accused the Centre of supplying fewer number of Covid-19 vaccine doses to the state in comparison to those ruled by the BJP. The minister claimed that the insufficient supply of vaccines has slowed down the pace of the vaccination drive in the state, adding that Punjab has the capacity to inoculate three lakh people per day.

Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris said on Thursday that the first case of the more contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 had been detected in the South American country and warned that it could become dominant in the months ahead. The Andean nation has been battling in recent months against a second wave of infections despite one of the world's most advanced vaccination programs against the virus, underscoring how inoculations are not a silver bullet against the pandemic.

With the addition of 9,844 new Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra on Thursday, the state's cumulative infection count crossed the grim milestone of 60 lakh, while 197 patients succumbed to the infection, the health department said. The state's total caseload now stands at 60,07,431, said the health department in a statement.

The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says at least 20 countries across the continent of 1.3 billion people are in the grip of a "very devastating'' third wave of Covid-19 infections and the Delta variant first identified in India "may have played a very significant role.''

A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that people are suffering for the Central governments decision to introduce Covaxin without proper authorisation from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Trinamool Congress supremo on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to get the indigenous Covid vaccine approved by the WHO to mitigate the problems being faced by those trying to go abroad.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hinted on Thursday that the UK was close to permitting unrestricted travel abroad for fully vaccinated people, in what would be a huge boost for airlines and holiday companies brought to their knees by Covid-19. Johnson said he was not ruling out going abroad for his summer holiday and said there would be an announcement later on Thursday.