March 29 coronavirus news

India recorded 68,020 new coronavirus cases Monday, another single-day record since last year and the the sixth consecutive day that India has seen a record-high in cases in 2021.

The surge comes as Indians mark the festival of Holi, a celebration of colors, on Monday. Several states have banned public gatherings and the health ministry has asked citizens to celebrate with their family as opposed to venturing outdoors. 

India has so far recorded more than 12 million cases of Covid-19. At least 161,843 people have died, according to official data.

The Indian Ministry of Health said that 60,530,435 vaccine doses have been distributed since mid-January.

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. traveled to Taiwan on Sunday to kick off a “travel bubble” between the two islands, according to Taiwan’s official Central News Agency (CNA).

Whipps hailed the move as a first-of its-kind “sterile corridor," according to CNA. It will enable travellers to come and go without undergoing the strict quarantine procedures common throughout Asia.

Travellers participating in the bubble will not have to undergo quarantine at a home or a hotel, but will instead be expected to practice "enhanced self-health management” for the first five days of their trips, CNA reported.

After a five-day state visit, Whipps will return to Palau, a group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines, on a flight that will carry the first group of Taiwanese tourists participating the program.

About 143 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to data published Sunday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The CDC reported that 143,462,691 total doses have been administered, about 79% of the 180,646,465 doses available. 

That’s about 3.3 million more administered doses reported since yesterday, for a 7-day average of about 2.7 million doses per day.  

About 28.2% of the population – 94 million people – have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 15.5% of the population – about 52 million people – have been fully vaccinated. 

Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been given on the day reported. 

Mexico's government has revealed the country's Covid-19 death toll is over 321,000 – 60% more than the 201,429 total deaths officially reported as of Saturday.

According to a new government report, from the start of the pandemic through February 14, 2021, there were 294,287 deaths from Covid-19.

Since then, there have been 27,223 additional deaths, according to a CNN analysis of health ministry data, bringing the total to over 321,000.

If the data in this report is correct, Mexico's death toll would be higher than Brazil's and would place the country as second worst hit in the world, following the United States.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday that while Covid-19 variants are playing a part in recent spikes in the number of cases, they’re not the only reason. 

Fauci added there is a risk that as numbers come down from a peak and reach a point where new case figures start to plateau, if "you stay at that plateau, you’re really in danger of a surge coming up, and unfortunately that’s what we’re starting to see.”  

Fauci said that the US “got stuck” at around 50,000 new cases per day and then went up to 60,000, something which he said is “really a risk.” It has been seen in the US and also in several European countries, he said. 

More than 30 million people across the United Kingdom have received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as the NHS prepares to administer millions of second doses in the coming weeks, according to the UK Department of Health. 

Here's a look at who's received vaccinations in the UK so far:

Everyone over 50, or those who are clinically vulnerable are urged to come forward for vaccines as soon as possible, the department says.