Nearly 4,000 new covid cases on Thursday

The Ministry of Health reported 3,958 newly infected coronavirus cases on Thursday and 4,1pc positive results from 100,000 tests. Deaths rose to 3,171. The number of seriously ill patients continuing to climb reached 506 with 120 on ventilators. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein reported 210,000 covid vaccinations had been administered to high-risk persons in the first five days of the program. The tempo of inoculations will be stepped up in the coming weeks.