Coronavirus Highlights: PM Narendra Modi to launch COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | All non-EU arrivals to France are required to submit a negative COVID-19 certificate 

Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced that all non-EU arrivals to France will require a negative COVID-19 certificate. A 6 pm nationwide curfew has also been imposed.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | India will treat both COVAXIN & Covishield equally, says top government vaccine official

India will treat a domestic COVID-19 vaccine “equally” with a prominent global one, even though the homegrown drug’s efficacy has not been proven, and people will have no choice which they one they get, a top government vaccine official told Reuters. “No vaccine is a backup to the other - both vaccines are equally important, both vaccines are hugely immunogenic,” Vinod K. Paul, who heads a government panel on vaccine strategy, said in an interview. They excite immunity against the virus.”

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Comparative factsheet for COVID19 vaccines has been prepared for recordkeeping purposes 

A comparative factsheet for COVID19 vaccines (Covishield & Covaxin) has been prepared for recordkeeping purposes. Comparison parameters will include vaccine platform, physical specifications, dosage, cold chain storage requirements, & minor adverse events following immunization, said the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | COVID-19 caller tune featuring Amitabh Bachchan's voice to be replaced with message about vaccine

The novel coronavirus caller tune featuring Amitabh Bachchan's voice will now be replaced with a female voice talking about India's vaccination drive.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates |  Delhi govt extends extends '14-Day Quarantine' order on UK passengers

Delhi government extends till January 31 its order pertaining to 14-day quarantine for passengers arriving in Delhi from the United Kingdom.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Maharashtra reports 3,579 new COVID19 cases, 3,309 recoveries, and 70 deaths

Maharashtra reports 3,579 new COVID19 cases, 3,309 recoveries, and 70 deaths. This makes the total cases, 19,81,623 , total recoveries 18,77,588, death toll 50,291 & active cases 52,558.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | 109 People have tested positive for the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2

"Number of people who have tested positive for new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the country climbs to 109", says Union health ministry.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Delhi reports 340 new COVID19 cases, 390 recoveries, and 4 deaths in the last 24 hours

Delhi reports 340 new COVID19 cases, 390 recoveries, and 4 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Delhi Health Department. This takes the count of total cases to6,31,589, total recoveries to 6,17,930, death toll to 10,722 & active cases to2,937.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates |PM Modi to roll out vaccination drive on 16 January at 10:30 AM via video confrencing 

The Prime Minister's office has said thatPM Modi will launch the pan India rollout of the COVID vaccination drive on Jan 16 at 10:30am via video conferencing. Total 3006 session sites across all States/UTs to be virtually connected during the launch. Around 100 beneficiaries to be vaccinated at each session site on Jan 16.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Too early to make specific comments on exporting vaccine from India: Anurag Srivastava, MEA Spokesperson

"It is too early to make specific comments on the aspect of India's export of the COVID vaccine to other countries as we are still in the stage of domestic production and distribution and making assessments here", said Anurag Srivastava, MEA Spokesperson.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Pope Francis & ex Pope Benedict receive first dose of COVID vaccine 

Both Pope Francis and ex Pope Benedict have received the first dose of a vaccine against coronavirus, the Vatican said. The 84-year-old pope and the 93-year-old former pope got their jabs as part of a Vatican vaccination program that began on 13 January.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates |  Delhi High Court allows spas to reopen 

The Delhi High Court has allowed spas in the city to reopen with appropriate safeguards. Court has also directed the spa owners to conduct the COVID-19 test of their staff every two weeks.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | No difference between both vaccines, both will build immunity and antibodies: MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan 

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that bothCovishield and Covaxin vaccines are safe and there is no difference between the two. He said that the scientists have tested them on all parameters and only then has it been given approval.Both of them will build immunity and antibodies.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | SII expects WHO emergency approval for AstraZeneca shot soon

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institue of India has said that it expects an emergency WHO approval of theOxford University/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in the next week or two. The institute is producing the vaccine for mid and low-income countries.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Union Minister V Muraleedharan wants Kerala govt to be more precautious as COVID cases rise in the state

"Yesterday, the largest no. of COVID cases were reported in Kerala. The state govt is not taking precautionary measures. Now, they've decided to open every sector in spite of the increasing number of cases. I'd like the state govt to be more cautious," says UnionMinister V Muraleedharan.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | 

SII to stockpile Novavax coronavirus vaccine from April, says Adar Poonawalla

The Serum Institute of India will start stockpiling 40-50 million doses per month, of the Novavax coronavirus vaccine candidate starting around April according to CEO Adar Poonawalla

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Wimbledon Champion Andy Murry tests positive for COVID-19

Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has tested positive for coronavirus.Murray is currently in good health and hopes to take part in the year's first Grand Slam, which starts on 8 February.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Past COVID-19 infection gives 5-month immunity, but risk exists: UK study

An official UK study released on Thursday concludes that a past COVID-19 infection provides some immunity for at least five months, but people may still carry and transmit coronavirus.The Public Health England (PHE) analysis found that naturally acquired immunity as a result of past infections provide 83 per cent protection against reinfection, compared to people who have not had the disease before.This appears to last at least for five months from first becoming sick. However, experts cautioned those with immunity may still be able carry the virus in their nose and throat and, therefore, have a risk of transmitting to others.'This study has given us the clearest picture to date of the nature of antibody protection against COVID-19 but it is critical people do not misunderstand these early findings,' said Professor Susan Hopkins, Senior Medical Advisor at Public Health England who ledPHE’sSIREN study.'We now know that most of those who have had the virus, and developed antibodies, are protected from reinfection, but this is not total and we do not yet know how long protection lasts. Crucially, we believe people may still be able to pass the virus on,” she said.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Puducherry adds 43 COVID-19 cases, tally reaches 38,567

Puducherryposted 43 new coronavirus cases on Thursday taking the total number of those infected by the virus to 38,567, while the toll surged to 640 with one more death.The Director of the Health and Family Welfare SMohanKumar said the deceased, an 84 year old woman died inJIPMERand had hypertension, septic shock and ARDS.The 43 new cases were identified at the end of examination of 2,992 samples. WhilePuducherry reported21, Karaikal4,Yanam6 andMahe12.The fatality and recovery rates were 1.66 percent and 97.57 percent respectively.The Director said as many as 5.27 lakh samples were examined so far and it was found that 4.84 lakh samples were negative.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Instagram influencers are a vaccine priority in wary Indonesia

Among the first in the queue for coronavirus vaccines in Indonesia has been one conspicuous group - social media influencers.Alongside President Joko Widodo as the world’s fourth most populous country kicked off its vaccination drive on Wednesday was Indonesian television personality, Raffi Ahmad, who boasts almost 50 million followers on Instagram.“Alhamdulillah [Praise be to God] a vaccine ... Don’t be afraid of vaccines,” the 33-year-old celebrity wrote under a video of him receiving the shot, next to a heart emoji and another of Indonesia’s red and white flag.Deciding who should be first in line for limited vaccine doses has been a challenge around the world, with many countries prioritising vulnerable medics and the elderly.Senior health ministry official, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said the decision to include influencers alongside almost 1.5 million healthcare workers in the first round of inoculations was a deliberate government communications strategy.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Two members of WHO delegation to Wuhan held back over health screening

Two members of a World Health Organization-led team that arrived on Thursday in China's Wuhan city to investigate the origins of COVID-19 remained behind in Singapore after testing positive for coronavirus antibodies, the global body said.The team of 15 had all tested negative for the disease prior to leaving their home countries, and underwent further testing while in transit in Singapore.

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Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Covid vaccine reaches all 24 districts of Jharkhand

Around 1.62 lakh COVID-19 vaccine has reached all the 24 districts ofJharkhandfor the scheduled first phase of the vaccination drive on January 16, a top Health department official said on Thursday.In the first phase of the vaccination drive, the vaccines will be administered to state healthcare workers in 129 vaccinationcentres, the official said.Principal Secretary, Health, DrNitinMadanKulkarnitoldPTIthat 1.62 lakh doses ofCovishieldvaccine sent from the state Health department warehouse atNamkumhave reached all the 24 districts this morning.He said the Union Health Ministry has allowed 129 vaccination centers forJharkhandin the first phase of the vaccination drive.Kulkarnisaid the vaccination drive inJharkhandwill start on January 16 and healthcare workers and military personnel will be administered vaccine in the first phase of the vaccination campaign.He said that the vaccines will be given to those whose names and details will be obtained sequentially from the app created by the Union Ministry of Health to decide who is eligible for vaccination.

Coronavirus Live updates: Two members of WHO delegation to Wuhan held back over health screening

Two members of a World Health Organization-led team that arrived on Thursday in China's Wuhan city to investigate the origins of COVID-19 remained behind in Singapore after testing positive for coronavirus antibodies, the global body said. The team of 15 had all tested negative for the disease prior to leaving their home countries, and underwent further testing while in transit in Singapore.

The results of nucleic acid tests were negative but showed two of the members had coronavirus antibodies, the Geneva-based agency said in a tweet. "They are being retested for both IgM and IgG antibodies," the WHO said.

It is the latest setback for a mission beset by delay as well as concern over how much access the team will get. The rest of the team arrived in Wuhan from Singapore late on Thursday morning on a budget airline and they were expected to head into two weeks of quarantine.

Coronavirus Live updates: Indonesian health workers receive China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccination

Indonesia started vaccinating health workers and public servants for COVID-19 on Thursday, a day after President Joko Widodo received the first shot of Chinas Sinovac Biotech vaccine. Indonesia started vaccinating health workers and public servants for COVID-19 on Thursday, a day after President Joko Widodo received the first shot of Chinas Sinovac Biotech vaccine.

The Health Ministry is planning to vaccinate more than 1.3 million health workers and 17.4 million public officials in the first stage. Indonesia, the worlds fourth most populous country, plans to vaccinate two-thirds of its population of about 270 million people — or just over 180 million people. “The pandemic is still going on and health care workers are the front-liners in caring for COVID-19 patients," Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono said.

Coronavirus Live updates: Singapore reports 38 new coronavirus cases; govt presses on with vaccination drive

A work permit holder from India has tested COVID-19 positive in Singapore after rostered routine testing on January 12 and was confirmed along with 37 other imported cases of the disease in the last 24 hours, even as the island nation presses on with its vaccination drive.

The Indian coronavirus patient, a resident of Seatown Dormitory in industrial Tuas region on the west coast of Singapore, arrived here on December 11 last year and served his 'stay-home' notice at a dedicated facility till December 25, reported Channel News Asia on Thursday. His swabs were taken on December 21 and December 27 and the test reports returned negative. He started work at a construction site on January 6.

''Given the relatively long interval between his travel and positive COVID-19 test, we have classified this case as locally transmitted while epidemiological investigations are in progress,'' said the Ministry of Health (MoH).

Coronavirus Live updates: Singapore reports 38 new coronavirus cases; govt presses on with vaccination drive

A work permit holder from India has tested COVID-19 positive in Singapore after rostered routine testing on January 12 and was confirmed along with 37 other imported cases of the disease in the last 24 hours, even as the island nation presses on with its vaccination drive.

The Indian coronavirus patient, a resident of Seatown Dormitory in industrial Tuas region on the west coast of Singapore, arrived here on December 11 last year and served his 'stay-home' notice at a dedicated facility till December 25, reported Channel News Asia on Thursday. His swabs were taken on December 21 and December 27 and the test reports returned negative. He started work at a construction site on January 6.

''Given the relatively long interval between his travel and positive COVID-19 test, we have classified this case as locally transmitted while epidemiological investigations are in progress,'' said the Ministry of Health (MoH).

Coronavirus Live updates: US tops 10 million COVID vaccinations as California expands eligibility for shots

More than 10 million Americans had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the year-old pandemic roared on unchecked. The United States reached 10.2 million inoculations one day after the CDC and Trump administration gave new guidance to U.S. states on who should receive the shots first. Strict rules putting healthcare workers first in line had slowed the rollout. Now states are urged to vaccinate anyone over 65 as well.

California moved on Wednesday to do just that, designating all individuals 65 and older eligible to begin receiving vaccines, adding 6.6 million people to the rolls of those qualified to be immunized, Governor Gavin Newsom said. The move bumps senior citizens, regardless of whether they have underlying medical conditions, to the top of the priority list for vaccine recipients, just behind front-line healthcare workers and residents and staff of nursing homes.

California, like many states, has struggled to use up as much vaccine as it received in initial allotments from the federal government, administering only about a third of the nearly 2.5 million doses shipped to the state as of Monday.

Coronavirus Live updates: WHO asks Serum Institute of India for Covishield trial data to begin global supply

The World Health Organisation has asked Serum Institute of India to submit its data from clinical trials of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine conducted in India for prequalification, to kick off the distribution of vaccines under the Covax Facility. WHO prequalification is a service the global organisation provides to facilitate access to medicines that meet unified standards of quality, safety and efficacy. So far this service was for medicines and vaccines against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis; now, it is also being extended for COVID-19.

Coronavirus Live updates: 109 cases of new COVID-19 strain in India so far, confirms health ministry

The total number of persons found infected with the mutant UK strain of COVID-19 reached 109 today, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Till 13 January, the number of people affected by this strain of the coronavirus was 102.

Flights from the UK have resumed from 8 January. Passengers will have to undergo an RT-PCR test both in the UK before boarding their flight and after arriving in India. To contain the spread of the virus, the Delhi government has imposed additional restrictions on people coming from the UK to Delhi. Every passenger -irrespective of their test result -will have to undergo a seven-day institutional quarantine in Delhi.

The presence of the new UK variant of the coronavirus has been reported by several countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore.

Meanwhile, the ongoing trend of contraction of India's daily new COVID-19 cases continued today. In a span of 24 hours, only 16,946 people were found to be infected with COVID-19 in India, the Union Health Ministry data showed today. The active caseload of the country stands at 2,13,603. The share of the active cases in the total cases has further shrunk to 2.03 percent.

Coronavirus Live updates: Odisha reports 222 new COVID-19 cases, 1 fresh fatality

Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 3,32,763 on Thursday as 222 more people tested positive for the infection, while one fresh fatality pushed the state''s coronavirus death toll to 1,896, a health official said. As many as 127 new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while 95 fresh infections were detected during contact tracing, he said.

Angul district registered the highest number of new cases at 28, followed by Sundergarh (24) and Jharsuguda (23) districts, the official. Fifty-three patients have died due to comorbidities so far, he said. Khurda district, under which Bhubaneswar falls, has so far reported 332 fatalities, followed by Ganjam (248) and Sundergarh (169), the official said.

Odisha now has 2,192 active cases, while 3,28,622 people have recovered from the disease so far. The state has so far tested over 72.92 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 30,168 on Wednesday.

Coronavirus Live updates: PM Narendra Modi to launch COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the rollout of India's COVID-19 vaccination programme on January 16, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. He is likely to interact via video link with some healthcare workers from across the country who will be receiving the shots on the first day, according to sources.

Modi is also likely to launch the Co-WIN (COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network) App, a digital platform created for real-time monitoring of COVID-19 vaccine delivery and distribution, they said.

A limited number of sites out of the 2,934 inoculation sites have been shortlisted from where the beneficiaries can interact with the prime minister and the authorities in those centres have been asked to make provisions for IT infrastructure for providing a two-way interactive communication facility to enable it to link and interact with the national launch site through a video link, they said.

Coronavirus Live updates: Kerala, Maharashtra now the only epicentres, but COVID persists in some states

India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive is all set to begin on Saturday, even as the outbreak continues to slow down sharply across states. The number of infections rose just 1.2% over the last seven days, the slowest so far. Kerala and Maharashtra remained the biggest epicentres, with half of all new cases in India coming from these two states. In some other states though, a sharp slowdown in the outbreak is now followed by relative stability, with thousands of cases still being reported every week. Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh were among a handful of states where case-loads rose faster than the national average.

Coronavirus Live updates: How Mumbai plans to give COVID vaccine to its population (From Mint)

India’s business and financial hub Mumbai, once the country’s coronavirus hotspots, is building facilities to store 10 million doses of the vaccine as it aims to open fully from a strict lockdown.

The city’s Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal and his deputy Suresh Kakani, who’s in charge of the vaccination drive, spoke in separate interviews this week before the start of a nationwide rollout on Saturday. Their responses are edited for clarity.

Q. What’s the plan?

Chahal: Mumbai’s population that comes under the Municipal Corporation is about 15 million. We plan to create vaccine storage capacity of a little more than 10 million, which will be adequate as the vaccination will be done in phases. We have formed 500 teams, each having two vaccinators, two support staff and one security guard. They will initially run the vaccination program at eight centers, which can inject 12,000 people a day.

Kakani: Capacity will rise to 50,000 people daily within a week, subject to availability of vaccines and people’s response. New centers will eventually be opened in each ward, so people won’t have to travel very far.

Q. Whom will you vaccinate?

Kakani: The vaccination will be done in phases. Phase 1 focuses on health care providers and the second will be for other frontline workers such as hospital cleaning staff, ambulance drivers, security guards.

Chahal: We have registered 130,000 health workers and around 200,000 frontline workers through the CoWin app and the federal government is allocating vaccine vials based on these numbers. Mumbai has received 139,500 vaccine doses compared with the 130,000 requested for the first phase, which can be completed in 10 days. There is no clarity yet from the federal government regarding when the third phase will start.

Kakani: We expect about 3.5 million people in the third phase, involving people aged 50 or more with co-morbidities. At maximum capacity this could take 100 days but it all depends on how many vials we get and what is the response of people.

Q. What are the concerns/challenges?

Kakani: Some challenges are there. People want to wait and watch for the outcome of the first few vaccinated people. They may want to seek the opinion of these people, and only then register.

Chahal: India has a population of 1.3 billion and only 30 million doses are available, so there is a huge gap in demand and supply. The rollout itself looks like a massive effort but in India we’ve had several such drives, in fact the one to eradicate polio was more complicated as our teams went door-to-door. If push comes to shove and a massive supply of vaccines are provided we are ready to knock on doors with ice boxes, as this vaccine (Mumbai is receiving Covishield, developed by Oxford-Astrazeneca Plc and manufactured by Serum Institute of India) requires to be stored at 2-8 degree Celsius just like polio doses.

Q. How are you procuring the vaccines?

Kakani: Procurement is being done by the Government of India and we will be allocated adequate vials in a staggered manner via the state government. As of now it’s free for healthcare and frontline workers. We still don’t have any official communication on price. Internal thought process for private procurement of vials is going on, but talks are not on with the manufacturing companies or Government of India at this moment.

Chahal: Vaccines will be given only based on identity proof (Aadhar card), which will avoid misuse and black marketing.

Q. How will Saturday play out?

Kakani: The vaccines will be transported from the manufacturer in Pune by refrigerated trucks, accompanied by adequate security. They will be placed in a central storage facility in Mumbai. On the morning of Jan. 16, those will be transferred to respective vaccination centers again by cold chain. Each person arriving to be vaccinated will have to show identity proof and the confirmation text message he or she received when they registered on the CoWin app. After vaccination the person will be observed for 50 minutes. The observation ward will be attached to an intensive care unit in case of any adverse reactions. We will be running these centers in two shifts 7 a.m.-2 p.m. and then on through 9 p.m. Second dose of Covishield is required to be taken after 28 days, following the same procedure.

Q. What’s the virus situation in Mumbai?

Chahal: We are registering 450-750 new infections a day but our positivity rate of 3%-4% is down from 38% at peak. Asymptomatic cases are now 80% of total versus 50% earlier.

Coronavirus Live updates: 276 new COVID-19 cases, 1 more death in Telangana

Telangana clocked 276 fresh cases of coronavirus, taking the total infection count to nearly 2.91 lakh while one fatality pushed the toll to 1,572. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 53, followed by Rangareddy and Medchal Malkajgiri with 23 and 18 respectively, a government bulletin said on Thursday providing details as of 8 pm on January 13.

The total number of cases stood at 2,90,916 while recoveries were at 2,84,849. As many as 4,495 patients are under treatment and 28,894 samples were tested on Wednesday. Cumulatively, over 73.79 lakh samples have been tested.

The samples tested per million population was over 1.98 lakh, the bulletin said. The case fatality rate in the state was 0.54 percent, while it was 1.4 percent at the national level. The recovery rate in Telangana was 97.91 per cent, while it was 96.5 per cent in the country.

Coronavirus Live updates: COVID-19 pandemic-driven shift to home-working carries risks, says United Nations

The shift to home-working triggered by the coronavirus pandemic looks set to endure long-term, making it vital to protect employees' rights and avoid blurred lines between on-the-clock hours and personal time, the United Nations said on January 13. Issues facing home workers and their employers need greater attention, including better safeguards and more awareness of the rights and risks involved, the UN's International Labour Organization said in a report.

"When the world was brutally hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, wide swathes of the world's workers turned almost overnight to home work as a way of protecting both their jobs and their lives," the agency said. "There is no doubt that home work is likely to take on greater importance in the years to come.

"It is thus time for governments... to ensure that all home workers -- whether they are weaving rattan in Indonesia, making shea butter in Ghana, tagging photos in Egypt, sewing masks in Uruguay, or teleworking in France -- move from invisibility to decent work."

Coronavirus Live updates: Kolkata allocated highest number of COVID vaccines in West Bengal

Kolkata has been allocated the highest number of COVID vaccines in West Bengal, at 93,500, for the first phase of the vaccination drive scheduled to begin on January 16, a senior health official said on Thursday. North 24 Parganas district has been allocated the second-highest number of COVID vaccines at 47,000, followed by Murshidabad at 37,500, he said.

"All necessary preparations are on the track for the vaccine rollout. The district-wise allocation has been made as per data uploaded on CoWIN portal as on January 12, 9.45 am for the first dose of COVID vaccination of health workers and personnel of armed forces," the Health Department said in a communication to the CMOHs in all the districts.

West Bengal has been allocated 6,44,500 vaccines for the first phase of the drive. The state government has allowed the use of private hospitals as COVID vaccination centres after a meeting with authorities of such medical establishments. West Bengal has so far registered 5,62,795 coronavirus cases, including 9,993 fatalities.

Coronavirus Live updates: COVID vaccination to take place at 81 centres in Delhi, jabs to be given 4 days a week

The COVID-19 vaccination programme will take place at 81 centres in the national capital on 16 January. As many as 100 people will be vaccinated at each of these locations per day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Thursday. The COVID-19 vaccination programme will take place at 81 centres in the national capital on 16 January. As many as 100 people will be vaccinated at each of these locations per day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Thursday.

Kejriwal also said: "We will begin with 81 centres, it will then be increased to 175 in a few days and then to 1,000 centres across Delhi." The Delhi CM also said that the Covid-19 vaccination will be done four days a week -- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday -- in the first phase of the immunisation programme.

Free Covid vaccine for all Delhi residents

Earlier on Wednesday, Kejriwal had announced that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government will provide the Covid-19 vaccine for free to the people of Delhi if the Central Government fails to do so. Kejriwal said that he has already appealed to the Centre for ensuring free vaccination in the country as "there are many people who may not afford the life-saving shot".

"I request everyone to not spread misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine. I had appealed to the Central govt that Covid-19 vaccination should be provided free of cost to all. If the Centre does not do it and a need arises, the vaccine will be provided for free to people of Delhi," Kejriwal said while speaking to reporters.

The coronavirus vaccination drive will begin in Delhi on 16 January. In the first phase, healthcare workers will be vaccinated followed by frontline workers. Teachers have also been included in the category of frontline workers, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had earlier stated.

Coronavirus Live updates: 413 new COVID-19 cases in Thane, tally reaches 2,48,170

The COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 2,48,170 with the detection of 413 new cases, an official said on Thursday.
Besides these new cases reported on Wednesday, four more people also died of the viral infection, raising the COVID-19 toll in the district to 6,042, he said. The COVID-19 fatality rate in the district stands at 2.43 percent, he said.

So far, 2,37,977 COVID-19patients have recovered from the infection, taking the recovery rate to 95.89 percent. At present, there are 4,151 active COVID-19 cases in the district, the official said. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 44,695, while the death toll has risen to 1,193, an official from the district administration said.

Coronavirus Live updates: China 2020 exports up despite virus; surplus surges to $535 billion

China's exports rose in 2020 despite pressure from the coronavirus pandemic and a tariff war with Washington, boosting its politically volatile trade surplus to USD 535 billion, one of the highest ever reported.

Exports rose 3.6 per cent over 2019 to USD 2.6 trillion, an improvement over 2019''s 0.5 per cent gain, customs data showed Thursday. Imports edged down 1.1 per cent to just over USD 2 trillion.

China's exporters benefited from the relatively early reopening of its economy and demand for masks and other Chinese-made medical supplies. Exporters have taken market share from foreign competitors that still face curbs imposed to fight the pandemic.

Exports surged 18.1 per cent in December over a year earlier to USD 281.9 billion. Imports rose 6.5 per cent to USD 203.7 billion.

Coronavirus Live updates: Jharkhand reports 152 new COVID-19 cases, tally rises to 1,17,240

Jharkhand's COVID-19 tally rose to 1,17,240 as 152 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Thursday. The coronavirus death toll remained at 1,048 in the state as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours, he said.

The new cases include 77 from Ranchi district, East Singhbhum (15) and Hazaribag (12), he said. Jharkhand now has 1,356 active coronavirus cases, while 1,14,836 people have recovered from the disease so far, the official said. The state has tested 11,771 samples for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, he added.

Coronavirus Live updates: Thailand reports 271 new coronavirus cases, two deaths

Thailand on Thursday confirmed 271 new coronavirus cases bringing the total number of reported infections to 11,262 since it detected its first case a year ago. There were two additional deaths, taking total fatalities to 69. Twelve of the new infections were imported, the COVID-19 taskforce said.

Coronavirus Live updates: COVID-19 cases explained in charts

The total number of COVID-19 cases in India is now at 1,05,12,093 with 1,01,46,763 recoveries and 1,51,727 deaths as per January 14, update. The mortality rate in the country now stands at 1.4 percent with Punjab reporting the highest (3.2 percent). Less than 8 lakh daily tests (below 10 lakh for the last 13 days) were reported on January 13 with more than 18.42 crore tests carried out to date.

Despite the high number of cases and deaths reported by India, the country fares better when compared with other nations in terms of per million population.

As many as 102 people have been found to be infected with the new strain of coronavirus from the United Kingdom, as of January 13, 2020.

Coronavirus Live updates: COVID-19 cases explained in charts

About 12 states and union territories--Andaman and Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli/Daman, and Diu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Manipur, Mizoram, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Tripura did not report any deaths today.

India’s recovery rate is now 96.5 percent. Dadra Nagar Haveli/Daman & Diu record the highest (99.8 percent) recovery rate, while Kerala now reports the lowest (91.6 percent). In terms of cases, Kerala recorded 5,158 new recoveries, the most, followed by Maharashtra (3,009), Chhattisgarh (930), Uttar Pradesh (879), and Tamil Nadu (821).

Coronavirus Live updates: COVID-19 cases explained in charts

As many as 16,946 new cases of novel coronavirus were reported, with India’s total COVID-19 cases now above 1.05 crore, as per the health ministry’s January 14, 2021 update. The new cases below 20,000 mark have been reported for the seventh day in a row. India reported 198 new deaths and 17,652 new recoveries in the last 24 hours, the latest release show. Active cases drop to 2,13,603 with a fall of 904 cases on January 14.

Kerala reported the most (6,004 or 35 percent) new cases in the last 24 hours, followed by Maharashtra (3,556), Karnataka (746), West Bengal (723), and Tamil Nadu (673). These five states account for 69 percent of all the new cases reported in India.

Maharashtra also reported the most (70 or 35 percent) new deaths, followed by Kerala (26), West Bengal (18), Uttar Pradesh (15), and Delhi (11). These five states account for 71 percent of all the new deaths reported across the country.

Coronavirus Live updates: Mizoram logs seven new COVID-19 cases

Mizoram reported seven new COVID-19 cases in the last 24-hours, taking the state's tally to 4,310, an official said on Thursday. Of the seven fresh cases, six were reported from Aizawl district and one from Lawngtlai district, he said. The official said that 864 samples were tested in the last 24 hours and six cases were confirmed at Zoram Medical College''s RT-PCR laboratory while one case was detected through Rapid Antigen Test from Lawngtlai district.

Five patients have travel history, he said, adding that all the seven patients are asymptomatic. Mizoram now has 101 active COVID-19 cases, while 4,200 people have recovered from the virus. The COVID-19 death toll in the state so far is nine. The state has tested 1,90,042 samples for coronavirus till date, of which 2.27 percent were found positive for COVID-19. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the state is 97.45 per cent, he added.

Coronavirus Live updates: COVID-19 vaccine - Short supply raises fear of booming black market

The high demand and short supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses across most parts of the world has triggered concerns of a booming black market for the jabs. Even in richer nations, which have snapped up a major chunk of the initial production of doses, the slow rollout has meant some people are trying to get vaccinated through the black market.

This has also raised fears that poorer nations would have to wait even longer due to the black market, coupled with the supply shortage caused by high- and middle-income countries continuing to secure a disproportionate quantity of doses. Experts cited by NBC San Diego believe that the poor rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States has laid the groundwork for a scenario in which the rich and the influential may use their money and power to cut in line and get vaccinated before others.

In Miami, big hospital donors reportedly got the vaccine out of turn. Some business tycoons in New York also reportedly flew down their friends to Florida, Miami to get vaccinated that were earmarked for a retirement home. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo had earlier threatened to impose fines of up to $1 million and revoke licenses of doctors, nurses and others who do not follow vaccine distribution guidelines. In most countries, healthcare and frontline workers have been prioritised for inoculation.

Coronavirus Live updates: India records 16,946 new cases

India's COVID-19 caseload increased to 1,05,12,093 with 16,946 infections being reported in a day, while recoveries have surged to 1,01,46,763, according to Union health ministry data updated on Thursday. The death toll has increased to 1,51,727 with 198 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 1,01,46,763, pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.52 percent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.44 percent.

The COVID-19 active caseload remained below three lakh. There are 2,13,603 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprise 2.03 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed 20 lakh on August 7,30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

Coronavirus Live updates: Three new COVID-19 cases push Andamans tally at 4,969

Three more persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, pushing the tally in the Union Territory to 4,969, a health official said on Thursday. The fresh cases were detected during contact tracing, he said. The death toll remained at 62 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours. Five more patients were cured of the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 4,891, the official said.

The union territory now has 16 active COVID-19 cases and all the cases are in South Andaman district. The Andaman and Nicobar administration has conducted 1,98,478 sample tests for COVID-19 so far, and the positivity rate stands at 2.50 per cent, he added.

Coronavirus Live updates: Philippines approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use

The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration has authorized the emergency use of Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE's COVID-19 vaccine, its head said on Thursday. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has shown a 95% success rate, is the first vaccine the Philippines has approved. FDA head Rolando Enrique Domingo told a media briefing China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd on Wednesday submitted to regulators its emergency use authorization application.

Coronavirus Live updates: 16,946 new cases push tally to over 1.05 crore, active cases drop to 2.13 lakh

India reported 16,946 fresh coronavirus cases and 198 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Thursday. With the addition of fresh Covid-19 cases, the overall cases in India reached 1,05,12,093 including 2,13,603 active cases.

After 17,652 discharges in a span of 24 hours, the cumulative recoveries reached 1,01,46,763, as per the Health Ministry. The death toll climbed to 1,51,727. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 18,42,32,305 samples were tested for Covid-19 up to 13 January including 7,43,191 samples tested yesterday.