With 41,506 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,08,37,222, while the active cases declined to 4,54,118, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.
The death toll has climbed to 4,08,040 with 895 fresh fatalities.
You can track coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates at the national and State levels here. A list of State Helpline numbers is available as well.
Here are the latest updates:
Home Secretary reviews COVID-19 situation in hill stations, tourist locations
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Saturday reviewed the steps taken by State governments for checking the spread of COVID-19 in hill stations and other tourist destinations.
The overall management of the situation and the vaccination status in Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal was discussed.
“The Union Home Secretary sounded a note of caution in view of media reports showing blatant disregard of COVID-appropriate behaviour,” said a government release.
Mr. Bhalla said the second wave was not yet over; and the States should ensure strict adherence to the protocols prescribed in respect of wearing of masks, social distancing and other safe behaviour.
What is ‘immunity debt’, and is it caused by coronavirus lockdowns?
As countries start lifting curbs imposed on societies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, news reports have indicated higher rates of respiratory infections, even unseasonal diseases such as influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Doctors have called this the “immunity debt” brought on by non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) put in place to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Read our explainer here.
Retail outlets fined for flouting COVID-19 norms
The Greater Chennai Corporation and the police identified 26 multistoried retail showrooms that failed to regulate crowding and violated norms pertaining to COVID-19.
Corporation officials collected a fine of ₹3.3 lakh from these showrooms on Saturday. The civic officials also checked 1,613 marriage halls and hotels and penalised 39 of the businesses for violating norms. The raid was conducted at many locations of the city following complaints from residents. The corporation penalised 6,130 business operators during the period between May 1, 2021 to July 9, 2021 for violating physical distancing norms. A total of 30,755 persons were penalised for not following norms.
A fine of ₹3.3 crore was collected from the violators.
After relaxation of lockdown, residents from various localities started calling corporation helpline 1913 to report violations.
Caregivers of disabled need priority for COVID-19 jabs: Social Justice Ministry
The Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry earlier this week asked the Health and Family Welfare Ministry to ensure that caregivers of persons with disabilities (PwD) are vaccinated against COVID-19 at the same centre as the PwD on priority basis.
The Department of Empowerment of PwD (DEPwD) under the Ministry wrote in an office memorandum on July 7 that it had received an email from Anjlee Agarwal, a PwD, requesting the facility.
“Caregivers are required to come in close proximity with persons with disabilities for providing support services to PwDs to enable them to perform activities of daily living. As such, it is important to ensure vaccination of such caregivers alongside persons with disabilities,” the DEPwD wrote.
The Health Ministry was asked to issue instructions to all Central and State healthcare authorities and vaccination centres to this effect.