Coronavirus News highlights: Today is the 242nd day since India implemented a nationwide lockdown to help curb the novel coronavirus pandemic. So far, India has recorded 90,04,365 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 1,32,162 deaths. A total of 84,28,409 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far. There are 4,43,794 active cases in the country as of date, which comprises 4.93 percent of the total caseload, the data stated. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have reported the highest number of cases. However, infections are rising rapidly in states like Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Yet, India’s recovery rate continues to rise and now stands at 93.60 percent. 'Unlock 6.0' is underway. Globally, more than 5.68 crore people have been infected by the coronavirus and 13.58 lakh have died so far. Stay tuned to this LIVE blog for all the latest updates:
Coronavirus in Punjab LIVE Updates |
Punjab reports 819 new COVID-19cases, 492 discharges and 16 deaths today. Total cases in the state rise to 1,44,995, including 1,33,919 recoveries and 4,572 deaths. Active cases stand at 6,504.
Coronavirus in Haryana LIVE Updates |
Haryana reports 3,104 new COVID-19 cases, 2,508 discharges, and 25 deaths, says State Health Department Total cases: 2,12,355 Total number of discharged patients: 1,90,067 Total deaths: 2,138 Active cases: 20,150.
Coronavirus in Delhi LIVE Updates |
Noida random testing: COVID-19 positivity rate higher among people tested at Delhi border
The positivity rate among people randomly tested for COVID-19 at Gautam Buddh Nagar's Delhi border was higher than in non-border areas of the district on November 19, according to officials.
The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration had on November 18 started random testing of people coming from Delhi to Noida at the borders of the two cities amid a spike in coronavirus cases in the national capital.
Coronavirus in Delhi LIVE Updates |
Delhi reports 6,608 new COVID-19 cases (out of 62,425 tests), 8,775 recoveries, and 118 deaths, according to Delhi Health Department Total cases: 5,17,238 Total recoveries: 4,68,143 Active cases: 40,936 Death toll: 8,159.
Coronavirus in West Bengal LIVE Updates | State Health Dept:
West Bengal's COVID-19 death toll climbs to 7,923 with 50fatalities; 3,626 fresh cases push tally to 4,49,131.
Coronavirus in Pune LIVE Updates | Schools in Pune set to reopen from Monday
After nearly eight months, schools and junior colleges are set to reopen in Pune district from November 23.Classes 9 and 10 of schools, and 11 and 12 of junior
colleges will start from Monday.
The district administration and Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations issued guidelines for safety of students and teachers on Friday evening.
Coronavirus vaccine LIVE Updates | PM Narendra Modi:
Held a meeting to review India’s vaccination strategy and the way forward. Important issues related to progress of vaccine development, regulatory approvals and procurement were discussed.Reviewed various issues like prioritisation of population groups, reaching out to healthcare workers, cold-chain Infrastructure augmentation, adding vaccinators, and tech platform for vaccine roll-out.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates |
WHO suspends remdesivir from list of medicines
The World Health Organization said on Friday it has suspended Gilead's remdesivir from its so-called prequalification list, an official list of medicines used as a benchmark for procurement by developing countries, after issuing guidance against its use in hospitalised COVID-19 patients.
"Yes we have suspended it from the PQ (prequalification list)," Tarik Jasarevic said in an emailed response to Reuters.
Coronavirus in Ahmedabad
LIVE Updates |Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation:In view of the complete curfew imposed in Ahmedabad City by the government of Gujarat, Ahmedabad Metro Passenger Services will remain suspended for two days, 21 and 22 November. Metro services will resume on 23 November, Monday.
Coronavirus in Mumbai LIVE Updates |
Mumbai reports 1,031 new COVID-19cases, 553 recoveries/discharges and 13 deaths today. Total cases here rise to 2,73,480, including 2,50,456 recoveries/discharges and 10,637 deaths. Active cases stand at 9,046.
Coronavirus in Maharashtra LIVE Updates |
Maharashtra reports 5,640 new COVID-19cases, 6,945 recoveries and155 deaths. The total number of cases in the state is 17,68,695 There are 78,272 active cases in the state and 16,42,916 patients have recovered so far. The death toll is at 46,511.
Coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh LIVE Updates | MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan:
Night curfew to be imposed between 10 pm to 6 am, starting from November 21 in Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Vidisha, and Ratlam districts. People engaged in essential services andfactory workers are exempted.
Coronavirus in Delhi LIVE Updates |
Delhi LG amends Delhi Epidemic Disease Management of COVID-19Regulations 2020, empowering 'authorised persons' to impose Rs 2000 fine for violation of quarantine rules, social distancing norms, not wearing face masks andconsumption of pan, gutka etc in public places.
Coronavirus in Gujarat LIVE Updates | Gujarat Deputy CM:
Curfew to be imposedin Rajkot, Surat, and Vadodara between 9 pm and 6 am, starting November 21.The state govt has decided to impose complete curfew inAhmedabadfrom 9 pm of November20 to 6 am of November23.
Coronavirus in Aurangabad LIVE Updates | COVID-19 2nd wave: Health infra being ramped up in Aurangabad
Oxygen tanks are being installed and beds in private and public hospitals are being increased to combat any second wave of coronavirus infections in Aurangabad region of Maharashtra, health officials said on Friday.
Sundar Kulkarni, chief of the civil hospital, which is one of the prime COVID-19 facilities in the city, said these measures are being implemented on a war-footing.
"We found 98,000 people with comorbidities during the (state government's) 'my family, my responsibility' campaign and we are planning camps for them," he said.
Coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh LIVE Updates |
Andhra Pradesh reports 1,221 new COVID-19cases taking the total positive cases in the State to 8,57,037 There are 15,382 active cases and 8,34,735 recovered cases in the State; the death toll is at 6,920 as per the State Health Department.
Coronavirus in Karnataka LIVE Updates |
Karnataka reports 1,781 new COVID-19cases, 2,181 discharges and 17 deaths today Total cases in the state rise to 8,69,561, including 8,33,169 discharges and 11,621 deaths. Active cases stand at 24,752.
Coronavirus in Pakistan LIVE Updates | Pakistan reports 2,738 cases of coronavirus in one day; highest since July
Pakistan has reported 2,738 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, highest since July 11 when the daily infection figure crossed the 2,700-mark, taking the current tally of patients with the disease in the nation to 3,68,655, a media report said on Friday.
Pakistan, which recently saw a sudden spike in the number of cases due to the second wave of coronavirus, registered 2,752 cases on July 11, the Dawn newspaper reported.
A total of 2,738 cases were reported on November 19. The last time the country came close to this number was on July 11 when 2,752 cases were recorded. The current death toll stands at 7,561, the report said.
Pakistan, which has opened its educational institutions and offices despite the threat of severe spread of the highly contagious disease, has earmarked USD 100 million for advance payment to procure the coronavirus vaccine as and when it is available.
Coronavirus in J&K LIVE Updates |
661 new COVID-19cases reported in Jammu and Kashmir today; 253 from Jammu division and 408 from the Kashmir division. Total number of cases now at 1,05,376 including 5,678 active cases, 98,076 recoveries, and 1,622 deaths.
Coronavirus in Delhi LIVE Updates |
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urgedAAP leaders and workers to distribute masks free of cost to those not wearing them, describes it as best form of patriotism and service to humanity.
Coronavirus in Kerala LIVE Updates |
Kerala records 6,028 new COVID-19cases today; active cases in the state at 67,831. Total 4,81,718 recoveries have been reported so far.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Infectiousness peaks earlier in COVID-19 patients than thought, study says
People infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, that causes COVID-19, are most likely to be highly infectious in the first week after symptom onset, highlighting the need to identify and isolate cases early, according to a study.
The research, published in The Lancet Microbe journal, says that although the genetic material of the novel coronavirus may still be detected in the respiratory or stool samples of COVID-19 patients for several weeks, no infectious virus particle was found beyond nine days of symptom onset.
"This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis that has comprehensively examined and compared viral load and shedding for these three human coronaviruses," said study lead author Muge Cevik from the University of St Andrews in the UK.
"It provides a clear explanation for why SARS-CoV-2 spreads more efficiently than SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV and is so much more difficult to contain," Cevik said.
Coronavirus in Italy LIVE Updates | COVID-19 arrived in Italy almost 6 months before first official case: Report
Amid reports of Italy receiving 3.4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the second half of January through the European Union's purchase programme, World Economic Forum on November 20 hinted that COVID-19 was circulating in Italy from September 2019.
Despite the fact that Italy reported its first official COVID-19 case on February 21, 2020, Italian National Cancer Institute in Milan, which re-examined samples from a lung cancer screening trial between September 2019 and March 2020, signaled that COVID-19 might have spread beyond China earlier than previously thought.
Coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh LIVE Updates | MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has clarified that no lockdown will be imposed in the state.
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Coronavirus in Portugal LIVE Updates |
Portugal extends state of emergency amid virusresurgence
Portugal’s parliament has voted by a comfortable margin to extend the country’s state of emergency by two weeks amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
The state of emergency has allowed the government to impose nighttime and weekend curfews across most of the country.
Officials are expected to further tighten restrictions on movements in areas of high contagion. Health experts say they expect the recent resurgence of COVID-19 to peak next week.
Coronavirus in Bihar LIVE Updates |
495 new COVID-19cases have been reported in Bihar in last 24 hours taking the total number of cases to 2,29,969: State Health Department. Active cases: 5,603 Recovered cases: 2,23,153 Deaths: 1,212.
Coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh LIVE Updates |
Uttar Pradesh reports 2,858 new coronavirus cases, 2,220 discharges, 20 deaths, says state health department Active cases: 23,357 Total discharges: 4,91,131 Death toll: 7,500.
Coronavirus in Europe LIVE Updates | Europeans feel the coronavirus pinch, Hungarians the most: poll
Almost 40% of European Union citizens feel worse off due to the coronavirus economic crunch, with Hungarians hurt the most even before the second wave of the pandemic, a pan-European survey showed on Friday.
The poll, commissioned by the European Parliament, was conducted online by Kantar between Sept. 25 and Oct. 7 among 24,812 participants in all 27 EU countries.
This was before the second wave of infections in Europe that caused new partial lockdowns across the bloc and is expected to cause economic output to shrink in the last three months of the year in a double-dip recession.
According to the survey, 39% percent of respondents in the whole EU said the COVID-19 pandemic has already impacted their personal income.Hungary was the worst affected with 44% of citizens reporting a financial hit.
Coronavirus Vaccine LIVE Updates |
Haryana Health Minister and BJP leader Anil Vij, who had offered to be the first volunteer in the phase three trials for Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin, has been administered a trial dose today. The 67-year old senior BJP leader was administered the dose under the supervision of a team of doctors at the Civil Hospital in Ambala Cantt.
Read more | Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij gets first India-made Covaxin shot
Coronavirus in Maharashtra LIVE Updates |
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) restricts the celebration of Chhath Puja on beaches. "There's usually a lot of crowd here on Chhath Puja but because of COVID-19, we're going to celebrate it at home. We support the government's decision," a visitor at Juhu beach told news agency ANI.
Coronavirus in India LIVE Updates |
The government has sought views of private sector healthcare chains and industry bodies on vaccinating India's 1.3 billion people against COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19, headed by Niti Aayog member (health) Dr VK Paul, reached out to industry bodies such as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and private hospital chains on funding models for coronavirus vaccination, the Economic Times reported sources as saying.
Read more | COVID-19 vaccine: Centre begins talks with industry bodies on vaccination blueprint
Coronavirus in Delhi LIVE Updates | Door-to-door survey in Delhi containment zones amid COVID-19 spike
Amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the national capital, a door-to-door survey for identifying and testing people symptomatic for COVID-19 in containment and densely packed areas of the city commenced on Friday.
The survey will be completed within five days and will cover over 57 lakh people in containment zones, dense areas and identified clusters of virus transmission, officials said.
Delhi Health minister Satyendar Jain told reporters that the survey is aimed at identifying and testing symptomatic people living in containment zones and densely packed areas.
Coronavirus in Gujarat LIVE Updates | Gujarat CM rules out lockdown, curfew only in Ahmedabad city
As Ahmedabad city prepares for a 57-hour-long curfew following a spike in cases, the Gujarat government on Friday ruled out a fresh statewide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said his government is not mulling to impose a statewide lockdown.
Rupani said a "weekend curfew" will be imposed from Friday night only in Ahmedabad city "as a precautionary measure" following a sudden spike in coronavirus cases in the state's commercial hub.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | More people in 20-29 age group have been travelling post lockdown: Survey
More passengers who are in the 20-29 age group have been traveling after the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, according to a survey released by AirAsia India.
AirAsia conducted a survey of around 2,400 passengers recently and it found that the share of flyers who are in the 20-29 age group has increased from 25 per cent before lockdown to 42 per cent after lockdown, the airline said.
The share of flyers who are in the 30-39 age group reduced from 49 per cent to 41 per cent post lockdown, as per the survey.
India resumed scheduled domestic passenger flights from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
Coronavirus in Russia LIVE Updates | Some Russian hospitals face shortages of COVID-19 drugs
Some Russian hospitals are experiencing serious shortages of drugs used to treat COVID-19 and cannot restock because of panic buying, high demand and problems with a new labelling system, officials, distributors and doctors said. Russia, which has reported the world's fifth-highest number of COVID-19 cases, is -- like many other countries -- struggling to cope with a second wave of the disease and the healthcare system outside Moscow is close to breaking point. Doctors in over a dozen regions face big shortages of antibiotics, antiviral drugs and other medicines used to treat COVID-9, three local officials and three drugs vendors told Reuters.
Coronavirus in India LIVE Updates |
The central government is considering sending high-level multidisciplinary teams to other states and union territories that are reporting a rise in COVID-19 cases to support efforts towards strengthening containment, surveillance, testing and efficient clinical management of positive cases. It has already rushed such teams to districts of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Manipur registering a high number of coronavirus infections.
Read more | Centre may send high-level teams to more states to monitor COVID-19 situation
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | COVID-19 patients likely to be most infectious during first week after symptom onset: Study
Although the genetic material of the novel coronavirus may still be detected in the respiratory or stool samples of COVID-19 patients for several weeks, no infectious virus particle was found beyond nine days of symptom onset, a new study says. The research, published in The Lancet Microbe journal, noted that people with the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection are most likely to be highly infectious from symptom onset and the following five days.
"This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis that has comprehensively examined and compared viral load and shedding for these three human coronaviruses," said study lead author Muge Cevik from the University of St Andrews in the UK. "It provides a clear explanation for why SARS-CoV-2 spreads more efficiently than SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV and is so much more difficult to contain," Cevik said. (PTI)
Coronavirus in Maharashtra LIVE Updates |
While the number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai has declined, the second wave of infections cannot be ruled out. The city may witness a rise in coronavirus cases in the run-up to New Year’s Eve forcing authorities to impose curb on celebrations and social gatherings.
Coronavirus in India LIVE Updates |
Amid the surging COVID-19 cases across India, the falling number of daily tests and widespread dependency on rapid antigen tests (RAT) have raised fears that a large number of positive cases could be missed in the country.
Read more | Falling testing numbers, high use of RATs raise fears of missing positive cases: Report
Coronavirus in Delhi LIVE Updates |
Contact tracing is already underway at a large scale. House-to-house survey would be conducted in containment zones from today to check on symptomatic patients. Government rates will be charged for 60 percent COVID-19 beds reserved by Delhi government in private hospitals: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain
Coronavirus in Maharashtra LIVE Updates | Thane district registers 795 new COVID-19 cases
With the addition of 795 new COVID-19 cases, the tally in Thane district of Maharashtra hasgone up to 2,21,593, reported news agency PTI citing an official. Also, 14 more patients succumbed to the infection,taking the death toll in the district to 5,568, he said. The official said the COVID-19 recovery rate in the district stood at 94.67 percent (2,09,785 discharged so far), while the mortality rate was 2.51 percent. The district has 6,240 active cases, or 2.82 percent of the tally, he said.
Coronavirus in Australia LIVE Updates |
South Australia's six-day "circuit-breaker" lockdown will be cut short, officials said on November 20, blaming a pizza parlour worker who misled contact tracers about how he contracted the virus. Premier Steven Marshall indicated a tough lockdown for the state's almost two million people would end late on November 21, at least two days earlier than planned. Marshall said a man who claimed he was a customer at a pizza parlour hotspot -- leading authorities to believe the strain was virulent enough to be transmitted via a takeaway box -- in fact worked there.
Read more | South Australia to end lockdown early after pizza parlour blunder
Coronavirus LIVE Updates |
A day after Boeing Co received approval for its 737 MAX to fly again following a 20-month grounding, its two largest United States and European customers signalled caution on their order books as they monitor demand in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. US based Southwest Airlines , Boeing's largest customer worldwide, said this week it would just take new MAX jets to replace jets it's retiring rather than grow its fleet, and on November 19 raised the prospect of scaling back its fleet due to the pandemic.
Read more | Large Boeing 737 MAX customers signal caution on orders amid COVID-19
Coronavirus in India LIVE Updates |
As many as 45,882 new cases of novel coronavirus were reported in the last 24 hours, pushing India’s COVID-19 tally to above 90 lakh, according to the health ministry. The country reported 584 deaths and 44,807 recoveries, the release shows. Active cases rose to 4,43,794, with a rise of 491 cases in a day.
Read more | COVID-19 cases explained in charts
Coronavirus in Telangana LIVE Updates | Telangana logs 894 new COVID-19 cases, 4 more deaths
Telangana reported 894 freshcoronavirus cases, taking the tally to over 2.61 lakh while four fatalities pushed the toll to 1,423, the state governmentsaid today. As many as 12,515 patients are under treatment and 39,448 samples were tested on November 19. The case fatality rate in the state was 0.54 percent, while it was 1.5 percent at the national level. The recovery rate in Telangana was 94.67 percent, while it was 93.6 percent in the country. (PTI)
Coronavirus in India LIVE Updates |
The Apollo Hospitals Group and Tata Medical and Diagnostics (TataMD) on November 19 announced the 'TataMD CHECK' diagnostic test for faster results for COVID-19 in India. Apollo Hospitals along with its subsidiary Apollo Diagnostics will offer the Tata MD CHECK testing in the national capital region (NCR) from the first week of December 2020 and thereafter, it will be rolled out across all major metros in the country, the companies said. These metros are Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune, followed by a second phase into other cities, they added.
Read more | Apollo Hospitals, TataMD collaborate to launch 'TataMD CHECK' test for COVID-19 in India
Coronavirus in Jharkhand LIVE Updates |
Jharkhand's COVID-19 tally mounted to 1,06,972 today as 230 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said. The coronavirus death toll rose to 937, with threemore people succumbing to the infection, he said. The state now has 2,600 active coronavirus cases, while 1,03,435 people have been cured of the disease so far,the official said. (PTI)
Coronavirus in India LIVE updates | JUST IN:
Total confirmed COVID-19 cases in India have risen to 90,04,365, according to the latest update by from the Union Health Ministry. This number includes cases involving foreign nationals, patients who have recovered and the death toll.
