A bombing outside a school in a Hazara area of Kabul kills 58 people and injures more than 150 others. The majority of the casualties are schoolgirls. The Taliban denies involvement in the attack, which is the deadliest in Afghanistan so far this year. (Al Jazeera)
Bangladesh reports its first six cases of the Lineage B.1.617 variant, which was discovered in India, prompting the authorities to extend the land border closure by two weeks. (Dhaka Tribune)
Kerala enters a nine-day complete lockdown, closing shops, suspending public transport, and severely restricting the on-road movement of people amidst an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. (The Economic Times)
India reports 401,078 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 21.9 million. The country also reports a record 4,187 deaths in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 238,270. (Khaleej Times)
Sri Lanka approves the emergency use of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as the country faces its third wave of the pandemic and the highest number of active cases since the pandemic began. The minister overseeing the situation says that Sri Lanka will try to secure five million doses of the vaccine as India has restricted the supply of the Oxford-AstraZenecaCOVID-19 vaccine. (Reuters)
The European Commission signs a new deal with Pfizer and BioNTech to purchase 900 million doses of its vaccine with an additional option to purchase another 900 million doses for delivery from 2021 to 2023 which they intend to use as booster shots against the illness and to allow for the vaccination of children and teenagers. (The Irish Times)