Coronavirus News Highlights: Today is the 310th day since India implemented a nationwide lockdown to help curb the novel coronavirus pandemic. So far, India has recorded 1,06,89,527 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 1,53,724 deaths. A total of 1,03,59,305 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far. There are 1,76,498 active cases in the country as of date, which comprises 1.65 percent of the total caseload, the data stated. India's recovery rate continues to rise and now stands at 96.91 percent. Globally, more than 10 crore people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 21.70 lakh have died so far. Many countries, including India, have granted emergency use authorization for COVID-19 vaccines and have started vaccinating healthcare workers and high-risk groups. India's regulator has granted restricted emergency use approval for two vaccines -- Covishield and Covaxin. Over 23 lakh people have been given their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in India so far.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates |
India sends free AstraZeneca vaccines to Sri Lanka for Friday rollout.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Karnataka reports 550 new COVID-19 cases
Karnataka reports 550 new COVID-19 cases, 644 discharges and two deaths in the last 24 hours, as per State Health Department.
Total cases: 9,37,933
Active cases: 6,202
Total discharges: 9,19,503
Death toll: 12,209
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Full-day classes for 9,10, PUC students from 1 Feb in Karnataka
The Karnataka government has decided to hold full-day classes for students of classes 9, 10, and first and second year Pre-University across the state from 1 February 1, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said. The decision was taken in consultation with the stateTechnical Advisory Committee for COVID-19, keeping in mind the health and educational future of the students.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Union Health Ministry:
A total of 28,47,608 beneficiaries vaccinated till 7 pm today.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates
|Russia reported 19,138 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, including 2,897 in Moscow, taking the national tally to 3,793,810 since the pandemic began. Authorities said 575 people had died in the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 71,651.
Coronavirus in Maharahstra LIVE Updates
|Maharashtra reports 2,889 new COVID-19cases, 3,181 discharges, and 50 deaths today. Total cases: 20,18,413, Total recoveries: 19,23,187, Death toll: 50,944, Active cases: 43,048.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Anurag Srivastava, MEA official spokesperson:
During the telephone call between PM & President Biden on 17th November, the leaders had discussed their priorities which included tackling climate change. So we look forward to working with the US administration on this issue.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Anurag Srivastava, MEA official spokesperson:
PM had congratulated then President-elect Biden on his election on 8th November. They had a telephone call on November 17th where both leaders exchanged views on working together on shared priorities & global challenges.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Anurag Srivastava, MEA official spokesperson:
As I had mentioned last time, as the new US administration takes shape we continue to remain engaged at all levels to work together to further strengthen our comprehensive global strategic partnership with the US.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Anurag Srivastava, MEA official spokesperson:
Over the next few days, we've planned to gift further quantities of 1 lakh doses to Oman, 5 lakh doses to CARICOM countries, 2 lakhs to Nicaragua & 2 lakh doses to Pacific Island states.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | MEA:
Commercial exports took place to Brazil, Morocco & Bangladesh. Further supplies on commercial basis likely to take place to Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Canada, Mongolia & other countries. We'll supply 1 cr doses to Africa, 10 lakh to UN Healthworkers under Gavi Covax facility.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | MEA:
From Jan 20, we've gifted over 55 lakh doses of vaccines to our neighbors & extended neighborhood-1.5 lakh to Bhutan, 1 lakh to Maldives, Mauritius & Bahrain, 10 lakhs to Nepal, 20 lakhs to Bangladesh, 15 lakhs to Myanmar, 50,000 to Seychelles, 5 lakh to Sri Lanka on request.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates
|Manipur reported 15 new COVID-19cases and 23 recoveries today, says State Health Department. Total cases so far: 29,022. Total recoveries: 28,499, Active cases:153, Total Deaths: 370, Recovery rate is 98.19 percent.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates
|Tamil Nadu reported 503 new COVID-19cases, 544 discharges, and 6 deaths in the last 24 hours: State Health Department. Total cases: 8,36,818, Total discharges: 8,19,850, Death toll: 12,339, Active cases: 4,629.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Health Minister Harsh Vardhan:
India has successfully contained the pandemic, flattened its COVID-19graph; 146 districts have no new cases for 7 days.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Hungary extends virus state of emergency, lockdown
Hungary on Thursday extended a coronavirus state of emergency for 90 days and partial lockdown measures until March 1, and said it would issue a decree licensing any vaccine already used on a million people.The measures -- including a curfew between 8 pm and 5 am, a ban on gatherings, mandatory mask-wearing in public, and online tuition for high schools and universities -- were brought in as part of a state of emergency in place since November 11. Higher education institutions and high schools remain closed, although primary schools and kindergartens can stay open."The protection measures have been extended until March 1," Gergely Gulyas told a press briefing.Parliament will also be asked to extend a so-called "special legal order" provision that allows the government to rule by decree for another 90 days, he said.On Thursday, Hungary reported 93 new deaths from Covid-19, bringing the country's overall death toll to 12,291, while the number of coronavirus patients in hospitals fell to 3,669, with 255 on ventilators."Restrictions are needed to avoid a third wave of the virus" and can be lifted later only if infection numbers continue to fall and enough vaccines arrive, Gulyas said.Hungary has repeatedly criticised what it says is the slow pace of vaccine approval and procurement by EU authorities.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | PM Narendra Modi at the World Economic Forum's Davos Agenda:
We focussed on developing COVID-specific health infra, trained our human resources, made full use of tech for testing and tracking.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | PM Narendra Modi at the World Economic Forum's Davos Agenda:
Many around the world thought India would be worst-affected country by COVID-19 and face tsunami of corona infections.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Rajya Sabha Secretariat:
Over 1200 officials and staff of Rajya Sabha Secretariat take COVID test ahead of the Parliament session; none test positive.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | PM Narendra Modi at the World Economic Forum's Davos Agenda:
In these tough times, India has been undertaking its global responsibility from the beginning. When airspace was closed in many countries, India took more than 1 lakh citizens to their countries & delivered essential medicines to more than 150 countries.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | PM Narendra Modi at the World Economic Forum's Davos Agenda:
Right now there are two made in India vaccines. World Economic Forum will be relieved to know that in the time to come many more vaccines will come from India.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | PM Narendra Modi at the World Economic Forum's Davos Agenda:
In just 12 days, India has vaccinated more than 2.3 million healthcare workers. In next some months, we will achieve our target of vaccinating 300 million elderly people and people with comorbidities.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Bahrain takes delivery of AstraZeneca vaccine from India
Bahrain has received its first delivery of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), state media said on Thursday.The vaccine will be free to citizens and residents of the Gulf Arab state, which on Jan. 25 approved the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker’s vaccine for emergency use, state media said, without providing the number of doses.Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is also prime minister, thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “and our friends in India for working with us to secure the delivery of” the vaccine, his court said in a Twitter post.
Coronavirus in LIVE Updates | State government:
Yogi govt is going to withdraw the cases filed against traders and others for allegedly violating COVID-realted rules. A direction has been issued in this regard.
Coronavirus in Odisha LIVE Updates | No COVID-19 death in Odisha for second consecutive day
No COVID-19 death was reported from Odisha for the second consecutive day, while 113 reported from Odisha for the second consecutive day, while 113new cases were detected, a Health Department official said onThursday.Of the new cases, 67 were reported from differentquarantine centres, he said.Sambalpur recorded the highest number of 18 new cases,followed by Sundargarh (17) and Nuapada (11).Eleven districts -- Boudh, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Jagatsinghpur, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Koraput, Malkangiri,Jagatsinghpur, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Koraput, Malkangiri,Nayagarh, Nabarangpur and Subarnapur -- did not register anycases since Wednesday.So far, the state reported 1,906 deaths, while 3,34,780 COVID-19 cases were detected. There are 1,286 active cases in the state at presentand 3,31,535 patients have recovered.The state has so far tested 76.35 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 23,174 on Wednesday.Odisha's positivity rate now stands at 4.38 per cent. The state government began the second spell of thefirst phase of inoculation across all 30 districts during the day. So far, 1,78,227 healthcare workers have been giventhe COVID-19 vaccines, while the remaining 1,60,473 peoplethe COVID-19 vaccines, while the remaining 1,60,473 people will get it by February 10, said Bijay Panigrahi, the director of the Health and Family Welfare Department. He urged all healthcare workers to get the vaccinesafter receiving a message. Those who do not turn up for inoculation will not getvaccinated free of cost in the future, Panigrahi said. (PTI)
Coronavirus in Delhi LIVE Updates |
Delhi reports 199 new COVID-19 cases, 119 recoveries, and six deaths, as per Delhi Health Department. Total cases: 6,34,524, Total recoveries: 6,22,114, Death toll: 10,835, Active cases: 1,575.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Govt:
Active COVID-19 cases less than 1.75 lakh after 7 months and declining.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Balram Bhargava, DG ICMR:
We wanted to know whether current vaccines are working on UK strain or not. We had someint'lreports about some vaccines working. We looked at data of patients who wereimmunisedwithCovaxin, we took out their blood, extracted the serum & tested with the cultured virus.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Balram Bhargava, DG ICMR:
We found that the neutralisation of UK strain was equivalent to Indian strains circulating in India. It's a very reassuring news that UK variant can be tackled by this vaccine & although we are seeing more variants in world, at present in India this is the only variant.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Balram Bhargava, DG ICMR:
UK variant strain is now present in 70 countries & we've identified 164 cases of it in India. We were able to find the first case of the UK variant on 22nd-23rd Dec. In a week's time, we were able to collect blood from these patients & culture the strain.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan:
India was the fastest to reach the first 1 million vaccination. We achieved this within 6 days, US did this in 10 days, Spain in 12 days, Israel in 14 days, UK in 18 days, Italy in 19 days, Germany in 20 days &UAEin 27 days.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Health Ministry:
India's cumulative COVID-19 positivity rate is 5.51 pc and is declining.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Health Ministry:
No of beneficiaries vaccinated against COVID-19 in India reaches 25,07,556 till Jan 28 at 2 pm.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan:
Two states still have 40,000 or more active cases - Kerala with 72,000 active cases and Maharashtra with 44,000 active cases.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan:
Over 25 lakh vaccine doses administered so far, as per data available till 2 pm today. Number of active cases are declining, there are 1,75,000 active cases in the country as of now - a steady & declining trend is being exhibited.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates |
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | WHO team to start Wuhan virus probe under global glare
A team of experts from the World Health Organization left quarantine in Wuhan on Thursday to begin a heavily scrutinised probe into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, after Washington urged a "robust and clear" investigation.The group started a two-week quarantine on arrival on January 14 in the central Chinese city where the first known cluster of virus cases emerged in late 2019.Wearing masks, they peered at the ranks of waiting media from the window of a bus which whisked them from the quarantine to another hotelon Thursday -- although it was not immediately clear when and where their investigation will start."So proud to graduate from our 14 days... no-one went stir crazy & we've been v productive," tweeted team member Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a global NGO focused on infectious disease prevention.The virus is believed to have come from bats and to have initially spread from a wet market in Wuhan where wild animals were sold as food.The WHO insists the visit will be tightly tethered to the science of how the virus -- which has killed more than two million people -- jumped from animals to humans.(AFP)
Coronavirus Live updates: 165 infected with UK variant of COVID-19 in India, says govt
The number of people who have tested positive for the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the country has climbed to 165, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. All these persons have been kept in single room isolation in designated Health Care facilities by respective state governments. Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. "The total number of cases infected with the new strain of the novel coronavirus first reported in the UK now stands at 165," the ministry said.
Coronavirus Live updates: India has flattened its COVID-19 graph; 146 districts have no new cases for 7 days, says Harsh Vardhan
India has flattened its COVID-19 graph and146 districts have reported no new case of the viral disease in the last seven days, 18 in 14 days, six in 21 days and 21 districts in the last 28 days, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday. This has been achieved due to pro-active testing with more than 19.5 crore COVID-19 tests conducted in the country so far, Vardhan, who chaired the 23rd meeting of the high-level Group of Ministers (GoM) on COVID-19 through a video-conference, said, according to a statement issued by the health ministry.
The current testing capacity is 12 lakh tests per day, the minister added. "With the 'Whole of Government' and 'Whole-of-society' approach envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, India has successfully contained the pandemic. Less than 12,000 cases were reported in the last 24 hours and the active caseload has reduced to just 1.73 lakh," he said.
Coronavirus Live updates: India's COVID recovery rate now nearly 97%; 31 states, UTs with less than 5,000 active cases
With a consistent rise in cumulative recoveries, India''s COVID-19 recovery rate has reached nearly 97 per cent which is one of the highest globally, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. With 14,301 patients being discharged in a span of 24 hours, the total COVID-19 recoveries have surged to 1,03,73,606. India's total number of active cases has dropped to 1,73,740 and now consists of just 1.62 per cent of the total cases.
Following the national trend of sustained decline in active cases, 31 states and union territories have recorded less than 5,000 active cases, the ministry said. It said that 78 per cent of the active cases are concentrated in five states - Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal. Till 7:30 am on January 28, more than 23.5 lakh beneficiaries have received the vaccination under the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination exercise.
In a span of 24 hours, 3,26,499 people were vaccinated across 6,102 sessions. A total of 42,674 sessions have been conducted so far, the ministry said. About 77.84 per cent of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in seven states and union territories. Kerala has reported the maximum number of single-day recoveries, with 5,006 newly-recovered cases. A total of 2,556 people recovered in Maharashtra in a span of 24 hours, followed by 944 in Karnataka.
Coronavirus Live updates: Over 23 lakh healthcare workers immunized so far across country, says health ministry
Over 23 lakh healthcare workers have received COVID-19 vaccine jabs in the country so far, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday while underlining that no case of severe adverse event or death is attributable to the vaccination till date. A total of 23,28,779 beneficiaries have been vaccinated for COVID-19 through 41,599 sessions till 6 pm on Wednesday, the twelfth day of the nationwide immunisation drive in the country, as per a provisional report, it said.
The ministry said "2,99,299 beneficiaries were vaccinated today (Wednesday) through 5,308 sessions held till 6 pm across 28 states and UTs," adding that the final report would be completed by late in the night. "The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination program was conducted successfully on the twelfth day," the ministry said. Till date, there have been the total 16 hospitalizations which is 0.0007 per cent of the total people vaccinated so far, additional secretary in the Union Health Ministry Dr Manohar Agnani said.
In the last 24 hours, one person who is suffering from bacterial sepsis has been hospitalized at the Apollo Hospital, Chennai. He was vaccinated on January 23 and was hospitalized on January 24, Agnani said. "Total nine deaths have been reported so far. None of these deaths have been causally linked with COVID-19 vaccination," the ministry said. In the last 24 hours, one person aged 23 years, a resident of Odisha, has died. The post-mortem report is awaited, it said.
"No case of serious/severe adverse event/death is attributable to COVID-19 vaccination till date," the ministry underscored. It said 123 adverse events following immunisation (AEFIs) have been reported till 6 pm on the twelfth day of the vaccination drive. The ministry said 79 per cent of beneficiaries vaccinated on Wednesday are from five states -- Karnataka, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The total number of beneficiaries who have been vaccinated on Wednesday till 6 pm include 8,491 in Andhra Pradesh, 606 in Bihar, 10,541 in Kerala, 33,124 in Karnataka, 60,194 in Madhya Pradesh, 4,316 in Tamil Nadu, 6,441 in Delhi, 1,366 in Gujarat and 33,263 in West Bengal, according to the provisional report.
Coronavirus Live updates: More COVID-19 vaccines on their way in India: Harsh Vardhan
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Wednesday that more COVID-19 vaccines are on their way to be introduced in India after the country launched the world''s biggest vaccination drive with two made-in-India shots earlier this month. Addressing the 4th edition of the Future Investment Initiative Forum being hosted in Riyadh through video conference, Vardhan informed that Serum Institute will supply COVID-19 vaccine Covishield to Saudi Arabia.
He said it is evident that the current crisis will reshape the world as one knew. "Mankind will only remember one thing from the year 2020 that is the deadly virus that created devastation across the world. But at the same time, it will also be remembered how science and healthcare sectors came to the rescue in a record time," he said.
The health minister said the pandemic has also resulted in heightened nationalism, but it has also shown us how important global cooperation is for everyone. Also, never before innovation and technology were so relevant to our lives, he said. Vardhan said the pandemic also forced everyone to come out of denial regarding damages to the environment.
"The lesson to humankind is very clear that health is more important than anything else. We never earlier realised how global cooperation is important for all of us. So, we must realise that the rewards must be distributed everywhere, regardless of when it is developed," he added. Another impact of the pandemic has been a rapid expansion of telemedicine facilities and this crisis has given rise to a large number of health start-ups, he said. At the same time, it also calls for a greater security net against medical expenses, he said.
Coronavirus Live updates: South Africa regulator approves Ivermectin for coronavirus treatment
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority on Wednesday approved the controlled use of the drug, Ivermectin, despite continuing concerns about its efficacy in the treatment of coronavirus. The drug is being used to treat livestock but had not been approved for human consumption till now. The regulatory body’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, said in a virtual media briefing on Wednesday that they will allow a “controlled and compassionate programme” for the use of the drug after embarking on extensive engagements with medical professionals.
She said a guideline in this context would be made available soon. Semete-Makokotlela said a number of factors had led to the decision. “We are in the second (coronavirus) wave. We are seeing lives being lost and we have many medical practitioners that have reached out to us. We have considered all of that. The approach is that we will facilitate a controlled, compassionate access programme for Ivermectin,” she said, emphasising that the authority has not changed its stance on the efficacy of the drug for coronavirus treatment.
“Our position has not changed around the availability or lack of availability of data but we had to have in-depth discussions around the context. “We are in a pandemic with limited options available. It is on that basis that we are saying we will facilitate a controlled access programme,” she said.
Coronavirus Live updates: Path of US economy depends on course of coronavirus, says Jerome Powell
The path of American economy continues to depend significantly on the course of coronavirus, US Federal Reserve Board Chariman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday as the Fed announced to keep interest rates near zero and maintain its sizeable asset purchases. Powell told reporters that the pace of recovery has moderated in recent months with the weakness concentrated in the sectors of economy most adversely affected by the resurgence of the virus and greater social distancing.
“We have not won this yet. We haven't succeeded in doing this yet and we need to stay focused on it as a country and get there,” Powell said. “The path of the economy continues to depend significantly on the course of the virus. A resurgence in recent months in COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths is causing great hardships to millions of Americans and is weighing on economic activity and job creation,” he said.
The overall recovery in economic activity since last spring is due in part to federal stimulus payments and expanded unemployment benefits, which have provided essential support to many families and individuals. The recently enacted Coronavirus Response and Relief Act will provide additional support, he added. “Overall, economic activity remains below its level before the pandemic and the path ahead remains highly uncertain. As with overall economic activity, the pace of improvement in the labour market has slowed in recent months,” Powell said.
Coronavirus Live updates: 39 new coronavirus cases in Pondy, tally touches 38,973
Puducherry clocked 39 fresh cases of COVID-19 and one related death on Thursday, taking the aggregate to 38,973. A 74 year-old person hailing from Karaikal succumbed to the viral infection. The patient, who died of severe COVID-19 pneumonia and ARDS had co-morbidities of diabetes and severe hypertension.
The new cases of infection spread over Puducherry 21, Karaikal 5, Yanam 2 and Mahe 11 were identified at the end of examination of 2,772 samples, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said. While 29 patients were discharged from hospitals during last 24 hours, the fatality and recovery rates were 1.66 percent and 97.59 percent, the Director said. He said 5.67 lakh samples were tested so far and of them 5.24 lakh returned negative.
The overall COVID-19 cases were 38,973 and 291 out of them were active. As many as 38,035 patients recovered and were discharged so far while the toll stood at 647.
Coronavirus Live updates: India’s vaccination drive much slower than targeted in first two weeks
India this week became the sixth country to administer more than 2 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine, even as the infection spread continued to subside. Nearly two weeks into the ambitious vaccination drive, Karnataka led the way with over 264,000 doses by Wednesday. Kerala, the only state where the virus is still spreading fast, has given 82,514 doses so far.
But turnouts at vaccination camps are a challenge. To meet the August target of inoculating 300 million citizens, India needs to give 1.3 million doses a day. The current pace is a lot slower, at less than 200,000 a day, as some doubt the jab’s safety. The Centre has directed states to act against those spreading rumours about vaccines.
Nine health workers have died so far after getting vaccinated, though the Centre denies any link with the shot. Globally, 80.3 million vaccine doses have been given so far, according to Our World in Data. Of these, 23.5 million were in the United States, followed by 15 million in China. By Wednesday, Israel had fully vaccinated nearly 17% of its population, followed by the United Arab Emirates (2.5%) and Iceland (1.4%). No one has been vaccinated fully so far in India as both vaccines being used in the country need two doses spaced a few weeks apart.
Coronavirus Live updates: COVID-19 cases explained in charts
The total number of COVID-19 cases in India is now at 1,07,01,193 with 1,03,73,606 recoveries and 1,53,847 deaths as per January 28, 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 were reported on January 28 with more than 19.43 crore tests carried out till 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.
Coronavirus Live updates: COVID-19 cases explained in charts
Maharashtra also reported the most (32) new deaths, followed by Kerala (10), Punjab (10), Delhi (9), Tamil Nadu (8) and West Bengal (8). These six states account for 71 percent of all the new deaths reported across the country.
About 15 states and union territories--Andaman and Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli/Daman and Diu, Goa, Haryana, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim and Tripura did not report any deaths today.
India’s recovery rate is now 96.9 percent. Dadra Nagar Haveli/Daman & Diu record the highest (99.8 percent) recovery rate. In terms of cases, Kerala recorded 5,006 new recoveries, the most, followed by Maharashtra (2,556), Chhattisgarh (944), Bihar (840) and Karnataka (760).
Coronavirus Live updates: COVID-19 cases explained in charts
As many as 11,666 new cases of novel coronavirus were reported, with India’s total COVID-19 cases now above 1.07 crore, as per health ministry’s January 28 update. New cases below 15,000 mark for 7th day in a row.
India reported 123 new deaths and 14,301 new recoveries in the last 24 hours, the latest release show. Active cases drop to 1,73,740 (about the number of cases reported back on June 22, 2020) with a fall of 2,758 cases on January 28.
As many as 23,55,979 beneficiaries have been vaccinated across India, according to the January 28 update.
Kerala reported the most (5,659) new cases in the last 24 hours, followed by Maharashtra (2,171), Tamil Nadu (512), Chhattisgarh (439) and Karnataka (428). These five states account for 79 percent of all the new cases reported in India.
Coronavirus Live updates: Gold demand plunged to 11-year low in 2020 as virus upended trade, says WGC
Global demand for gold fell to its lowest in 11 years in 2020 as the coronavirus upended the market, triggering huge stockpiling by investors but collapsing sales of jewellery and purchases by central banks, an industry report said on Thursday. The pandemic also transformed the geography of the bullion trade, sucking gold from Asia, where most gold is sold as jewellery, to Europe and the United States, where investors are the dominant consumers.
It also pushed the value of gold up 25% in 2020, because investors have much more impact on prices than the jewellery market. Global demand for gold fell to 3,759.6 tonnes last year, down 14% from 2019 and the first year below 4,000 tonnes since 2009, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in its latest quarterly report. The year ended on a weak note, with demand over October to December at 783.4 tonnes, down 28% year-on-year and the lowest of any quarter since 2008, the WGC said.
