With 45,576 new COVID-19 infections, India’s total cases are now close to 90 lakh. With 585 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the toll mounts to 1,31,578. Of the 89,58,484 infections, active cases dropped to 4,43,303, while as many as 83 lakh people have been discharged.

Delhi’s coronavirus tally on Wednesday climbed to over 500,000 after 7,486 fresh cases and 131 new fatalities were recorded in the last 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 7,943. This is the highest number of deaths reported in the city so far. Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in the city, Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday reiterated that there will be no lockdown in the national capital, but said that there can be local restrictions at some busy places.

The Covid lockdown has set off sweeping economic distress in cities but its crucial dimension has remained untold: the silent, devastating toll on the working woman in the city suddenly out of work. Now locked out of the job market, they are being pushed to debt; some are selling off household items their incomes had helped buy, others are returning to places where they came from – all in desperate search for a job.

In another story, Chinese officials have claimed that traces of Covid-19 were found on more cold-chain imports from different countries, including India, amid increasing criticism from several nations that the testing and restrictions are not based on science and would disrupt trade. This is the second-time Chinese officials claimed to have found coronavirus on Indian fish exports. On the vaccine front, Pfizer Inc. said a final analysis of clinical-trial data showed its vaccine was 95% effective.

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