Coronavirus latest updates: India reports 18,222 new cases; mutant strain patients spike to 90

India on Saturday reported 18,222 new COVID-19 cases, 19,253 discharges, and 228 deaths. As India gears up for the corona vaccination program, a dry run has been conducted in the country to assess the readiness of the mechanism laid out for immunisation drive. In Maharashtra, dry run was conducted across 32 of the total 36 districts. Maharashtra Minister also asserted that the central government should bear the entire cost of vaccination. Meanwhile, the state's coronavirus tally has increased to 19.61 lakh with the addition of 3,693 cases. As the virus claimed the lives of 73 patients during the day, the fatality count mounted to 49,970.