India: Kerala logs 6,409 new Covid-19 cases, 47 deaths in last 24 hours

Kerala reported 6,409 new COVID-19 cases and 47 deaths in the last 24 hours, a health bulletin from the state health department said on Tuesday.

The state also witnessed 6,319 recoveries from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, according to ANI.

With this, the active caseload in the state now stands at 71,020, while the cumulative Covid-19 death toll has gone upto 34,362.

The state’s health bulletin also informed that as many as 68,692 samples were tested for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours.

India has vaccine certificate pact with 96 countries

As many as 96 countries have agreed to Mutual Acceptance of vaccination certificates of India’s Covid vaccines and vaccination process, India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Tuesday.

The Indian Government continues to be in communication with the rest of the world so that beneficiaries of the world’s largest Covid vaccination programme are accepted and recognised, thereby easing travel for education, business and tourism purposes, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

India could resume deliveries of Covid-19 shots to global vaccine-sharing platform Covax in a few weeks for the first time since April, two health industry sources said, ending a suspension of supplies that has hurt poor countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which co-leads Covax, has been urging India to restart supplies for the programme, especially after it sent about 4 million doses to its neighbours and partners in October.

Based on an informal approval from India, Covax officials have started planning allocations of the Covishield shot for various countries, said one of the sources, both of whom declining to be identified pending a final agreement.

• India