Coronavirus Highlights: Today is the 290th day since India implemented a nationwide lockdown to help curb the novel coronavirus pandemic. India has reported 18,139 new Covid-19 cases, 20,539 recoveries, and 234 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the country's count to 1,04,13,417, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Friday. While 1,00,37,398 people have recovered from the novel coronavirus so far, 1,50,570 persons have succumbed to the deadly virus in the country. There are 2,25,449 active coronavirus cases in India, as per the Union Health Ministry. As many as 17,93,36,364 samples have been tested for Covid-19 up to January 6 including 9,35,369 samples tested on Thursday, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed. Kerala continues to be the worst affected state by the pandemic with 65,252 cases. According to the Health Ministry, there are 11,939 active cases in UP, 9,109 active cases in Chhattisgarh and 4,481 active cases in Delhi. With 3,729 new COVID-19 cases and 72 deaths in Maharashtra, total cases in the state stand at 19,58,282. Karnataka reported 761 new COVID-19 cases, and seven deaths today. The total cases in the state reached 9,24,898 cases. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu reported 805 new COVID-19 cases, 911 discharges, and 12 deaths in the last 24 hours, talking the state's tally to 8,23,986 cases. Andhra Pradesh reported 295 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The total cases in the state stand at 8,84,171 cases. Globally, more than 8.79 crore people have been infected by the coronavirus and 18.95 lakh have died so far. Many countries have granted emergency use authorization for COVID-19 vaccines and have started the process of vaccinating healthcare workers and high-risk groups. India's regulator has granted restricted emergency use approval for two vaccines -- Covishield and Covaxin.
Coronavirus in West Bengal LIVE Updates | West Bengal registers 926 fresh cases, tally now at 5,59,099
West Bengal's COVID-19 tally mounts to 5,59,099 as 926 more people test positive, 21 fresh fatalities push the state's coronavirus death toll to 9,902.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | WHO urges nations to stop making bilateral vaccine deals
The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged nations to stop making bilateral vaccine deals.
Coronavirus in Jharkhand LIVE Updates | Jharkhand reports 207 new cases & 188 recoveries
Jharkhand reported 207 new #COVID19 cases & 188 recoveries & 2 deaths. The total number of cases now stands at 1,16,436 including 1,13,928 recoveries, 1,043 deaths, and 1,465 active cases.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Third vaccine approved by Britain for its mass inoculation drive
Britain has green-lighted a jab developed by US firm Moderna, making it the third vaccine approved by the country for its mass inoculation drive.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | PM Modi to interact with CMs of all states regarding vaccination roll-out on 11 January
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the Chief Ministers of all states via video conference on 11 January at 4 pm. The agenda will be to discuss the COVID-19 situation and vaccination roll-out.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | London declares 'major incident' with hospitals at risk of Covid deluge
London mayor Sadiq Khan on Friday declared a major incident, warning hospitals in the British capital could soon be overwhelmed after a surge in coronavirus infections linked to a new strain.
"The stark reality is that we will run out of beds for patients in the next couple of weeks unless the spread of the virus slows down drastically," Khan said in a statement, urging greater support from the central UK government.
"We are declaring a major incident because the threat this virus poses to our city is at crisis point. If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS (National Health Service) could be overwhelmed and more people will die."
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Goa's 2nd dry run of COVID-19 vaccination held at 8 hospitals
The second dry run of COVID-19 vaccination rollout was conducted in Goa on Friday at eight hospitals, a senior health department official said.While six of the hospitals where the mock drill was held were government-run, two others were private facilities, he said.The first dry run in Goa was conducted on January 2 along with other states.
"As part of the nationwide exercise, the second dry run in the state was conducted at government-run facilities at Valpoi, Candolim, Mapusa (North Goa), Quepem, Chinchinim, Margao (South Goa) and private hospitals Manipal Hospital at Dona Paula (North Goa) and Victor Hospital in Margao (South Goa)," the senior official said.
The state government is all set to implement the vaccination programme with the required infrastructure put in place, he said."When the actual vaccination process starts in the state, a total of 18,277 health care workers would be given the vaccine in the first phase and cold chain to store 10 lakh doses has already been put in place," he added.
In the first phase, 100 people each in 21 hospitals of the state would be administered the vaccine on a daily basis, the official said."As part of the process, patients would be observed for side effects for half an hour after the inoculation, before they are allowed to leave the hospital," he said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | UP's Muzaffarnagar records 18 fresh COVID-19 cases, 1 more death
The COVID-19 caseload of Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district climbed to 8,250 on Friday with 18 fresh infections while the death toll rose to 105 as one more person succumbed to the disease, officials said.The latest fatality was a 73-year-old man from South Civil Lines area. The man, who was admitted to Muzaffarnagar Medical College and Hospital on December 24, died on Thursday evening, they said.The number of active cases in the district stands at 275, according to the officials.
Coronavirus in Rajasthan LIVE Updates
|Rajasthan reports 471 new COVID-19cases and 537 recoveries today. Total cases: 3,12,091, Total recoveries: 3,01,962, Death toll: 2727, Active cases: 7402.
Coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir | J-K's COVID-19 Tally Rises to 1,22,303 with 127 Fresh Cases
Jammu and Kashmir's COVID-19 caseload climbed to 1,22,303 on Friday with 127 fresh infections while the death toll mounted to 1,907 as four more people succumbed to the disease, officials said. Of the fresh cases, 85 were from the Jammu division and 42 from the Kashmir division of the union territory, they said.
Jammu district recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 48, followed by 22 in Srinagar and 10 in Samba, the officials said. While four districts -- Anantnag, Kulgam, Kishtwar and Shopian -- did not report any fresh cases, 13 other districts recorded fresh cases in single digits. (PTI)
Coronavirus in Goa LIVE Updates | Goa records 83 new COVID-19 cases; 105 recoveries
At least 83 persons tested positive for coronavirus, while 105 recovered from the infection in Goa on Friday, an official from the state health department said.With this, the count of infections in the coastal state reached 51,709, of which 50,088 patients have recovered from the infection, the official said.As many as 744 people have died of the disease so far, and the state is now left with 877 active cases, he said.With the addition of 2,087 samples tested during the day, the total number of tests conducted in the state has reached 4,12,662, the official added.Goa's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 51,709, new cases 83, death toll 744, discharged 50,088, active cases 877, samples tested till date 4,12,662. (PTI)
Coronavirus LIVE Updates
|Maharashtra reports 3,693 new COVID-19 cases, tally rises to 19,61,975; toll goes up to 49,970 as 73 die: Health official
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | DGCA issues guidelines to airlines for carrying COVID-19 vaccines packed in dry ice
Aviation regulator DGCA on Friday issued guidelines to all aircraft operators who plan to transport COVID-19 vaccines packed in dry ice to various parts of the country.
Dry ice transforms into carbon dioxide gas at temperatures higher than -78 degrees Celsius under normal atmospheric pressure and therefore it is classified as "dangerous goods" by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), it said.
"All operators while engaging in transportation of COVID-19 vaccines packed with dry ice shall establish the maximum quantity of dry ice that can be loaded in a given cargo hold or in the main deck (passenger cabin) when a passenger version is deployed for all cargo operations," the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) noted.
The country is preparing for the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines and the second nationwide mock drill on the drive was conducted on January 8.
India's drugs regulator has approved Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | UK approves Moderna vaccine for rollout against COVID-19
The UK’s regulatory authority on Friday approved a third COVID-19 vaccine for use in the country, made by the company Moderna. However, supplies of the new jab are not expected to be available until the spring in a few weeks’ time as the UK has pre-ordered 7 million doses.
Coronavirus in Uttarakhand LIVE Updates
|Uttarakhand reports 269 new COVID-19cases, 390 recoveries and 7 deaths today. Total cases: 93,111, Total recoveries: 87,127, Death toll: 1562: Active cases: 3179.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Malaysia PM Muhyiddin Yassin to announce new COVID-19 measures as deaths hit daily record
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will announce new measures next week to curb a surge in coronavirus cases, a senior minister said on Friday, as the country reported its highest daily number of deaths linked to the epidemic.
The Southeast Asian nation has seen a spike in infections since September, with the number of daily reported cases climbing to record highs on two days this week.
Friday’s death toll of 16 took total COVID-19 fatalities to 537. The health ministry also reported 2,643 new infections, raising the total number of cases to 131,108. (Reuters)
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Greece extends international travel restrictions to January 21, toughens quarantine
Greece has extended restrictions on international flights by two weeks to help rein in the spread of COVID-19, its civil aviation authority said on Friday.
The requirement that all passengers flying to Greece must receive a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test 72 hours prior to their arrival and undergo random testing for the coronavirus has been extended until midnight on Jan. 21, the authority said in a statement. The order had previously been due to expire on Jan. 7.
Under renewed restrictions, foreign travellers will also be quarantined for seven days, instead of three days, while all travellers from Britain will also have a rapid test upon their arrival, the statement added.
Greece has been more effective than many European countries in containing the coronavirus pandemic, despite its struggling health services, which were badly hit by years of financial crisis.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | First case of infection of UK-strain of coronavirus found in Madhya Pradesh
In the first such case in Madhya Pradesh, a 39-year-old man who returned to Indore from the UK last month has tested positive for the new coronavirus strain, senior officials said on Friday.The patient, who is asymptomatic, has been placed in home isolation, district collector Manish Singh said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | COVID-19 vaccine developed by German research group fails in early trial
A coronavirus vaccine developed by the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF) and vaccine maker IDT Biologika did not prompt the hoped-for immune reaction in early-stage testing on humans, trial organisers at university hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) said on Friday. Further testing has been suspended until the cause for the weak immunogenicity in the Hamburg trial involving 30 volunteers has been established, UKE said in a statement, adding that the vaccine was well tolerated. IDT said in November it was hoping to be able to apply for regulatory approval at the end of 2021. (Reuters)
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | EU doubles BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine order to 600 million jabs
The EU has struck a deal to double its supply of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19 to a total of 600 million doses, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.
"We have right now, access to 300 million doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine... With the new agreement we could purchase a total of up to an additional 300 million doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine," she told a press conference.
She said that, along with the Moderna vaccine also authorised for use in the EU, "we have already secured an amount of doses that we need to vaccinate 380 million Europeans, and this is more than 80 percent of the European population".
Coronavirus LIVE Upates | Georgia's envoy seeks India's cooperation in COVID-19 vaccine
Georgian Ambassador Archil Dzuliashvili on Friday sought India''s cooperation in providing COVID-19 vaccine to his country.He discussed the issue during his meeting with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at the Raj Bhavan here, an official statement said."The Ambassador of Georgia to India Archil Dzuliashvili today sought the cooperation of India in providing the coronavirus vaccine to his country," the statement issued by the Raj Bhavan said.Noting that Georgia has more than 5,000 COVID-19 cases, Dzuliashvili said that like many other countries, Georgia is expecting India to make available the vaccine to his country, it said.The ambassador described Georgia as a "small yet vibrant country with ancient civilization" and said it is keen to enhance business and trade cooperation with India, especially in the fields of ports, clean energy and culture.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | England And Scotland To Require Travellers To Show Negative COVID Tests
People entering England and Scotland will have to show a negativeCOVID-19test result starting next week as authorities try to ramp up protection against new, more infectious strains of thecoronavirusfrom other countries.Passengers arriving by boat, plane or train will have to take a test a maximum of 72 hours before departure, mirroring measures taken last year by other countries around the world.“We already have significant measures in place to prevent imported cases ofCOVID-19, but with new strains of the virus developing internationally we must take further precautions,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.He said there were concerns that vaccines might not work properly against the highly transmissible variant of thecoronavirusdiscovered in South Africa, echoing recent comments from other government officials. (Reuters)
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | UK study finds arthritis drugs offer life-saving treatment for COVID-19
Treating critically ill COVID-19 patients with drugs typically used for arthritis may significantly improve survival, a landmark UK study has found.
The findings come from a trial which evaluates the effect of treatments on a combination of survival and length of time patients need support in an intensive care unit (ICU).
Patients across the UK who are admitted to ICU are now set to receive the treatments using the drugs tocilizumab and sarilumab, which can reduce the time spent in hospital by up to 10 days, according to the findings of the study which were revealed this week.
“Results from the government-funded REMAP-CAP clinical trial showed tocilizumab and sarilumab reduced the relative risk of death by 24 per cent, when administered to patients within 24 hours of entering intensive care,” the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.
“Patients receiving these drugs, typically used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, left intensive care between seven to 10 days earlier on average. The rollout of these treatments could therefore contribute significantly towards reducing pressures on hospitals over the coming weeks and months,” it said. (PTI)
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Singapore PM Lee Hsien receives COVID-19 vaccine, urges others to follow
Urging Singaporeans to get inoculated against COVID-19, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday received his first dose of the vaccine, becoming the first member of the Cabinet to take the jab.Lee, 68, posted a video of himself being injected in the arm at a hospital on his official Facebook page.'We got vaccinated early to show Singaporeans we are confident that the vaccine is safe and effective,' he said in a post accompanying the video.According to Channel News Asia, Lee received the shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine along with Singapore General Hospital (SGH) staff at the official launch of vaccinations for healthcare workers.Talking to reporters at SGH, Lee said he was happy to see the start of inoculations for healthcare and frontline workers. (PTI)
Coronavirus in Delhi LIVE Updates
|Delhi reports 444 COVID-19cases, 823 recoveries and 10 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total cases:6,29,282, Total recoveries: 6,14,849, Death toll 10,654, Active cases 3779.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates | Majority people want suspension of flights from countries with new virus strain: Survey
As India resumes flights to the UKfrom Friday, though in a restricted manner, after keeping them suspended for about a fortnight in the wake of detection of new variant of coronavirus, a majority of people want flights banned from the countries having cases with new variants, according to a survey.
Coronavirus in Kerala LIVE Updates | COVID-19 vaccination: Second phase trial run held successfully in Kerala
The second phase mock drill of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout was successfully conducted in 46 centres in Kerala on Friday, as Health Minister K K Shailaja announced that the state was all set to receive the vaccine.
The Minister congratulated the Health department officials and workers who took part in the drill.
In the field of vaccination, Kerala has a wealth of experience due to which whenever the vaccine arrives in the state, it would be distributed in a speedy manner, a press release quoting the minister said.
The storage facilities for the vaccine are also getting ready in various places, she added. (PTI)
Coronavirus LIVE Updates
|Centre should bear the cost of COVID-19 vaccination in Maharashtra, says state minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde
Coronavirus Live updates: Centre should provide free COVID-19 vaccines in Maharashtra, says Minister
Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Friday demanded that the Centre bear the cost of COVID-19 vaccination in the state. Speaking at the Thane civil hospital here, he said people expect that the government should make coronavirus vaccines available free of cost.
"Therefore, the Union government should bear the expenses of the vaccination in the state. Maharashtra Health Rajesh Tope has also urged the Centre to provide freevaccination,” Shinde said. He said that all preparations for the actual vaccination were in place in Thane district, of which he is the guardian minister.
Coronavirus Live updates: Bhutan reports first COVID-19 death
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan reported its first COVID-19 death some 10 months after initially detecting the virus and managing to keep the disease under control by largely sealing off the tourism-dependent country. In a statement issued late on Thursday, Bhutan's health ministry said a 34-year-old man with chronic liver disease and renal failure, who tested positive for COVID-19, had died at a hospital in the capital Thimphu.
Bhutan has reported 767 cases of the coronavirus, having conducted a little over 300,000 tests since it detected the first infection in an American tourist last March. Taking swift measures, the country of some 750,000 people closed itself to visitors and imposed a mandatory quarantine for everyone returning from abroad.
Since then, Bhutan has kept its borders sealed, enforced lockdowns twice, intensified testing and screening at entry points, including at its only international airport at Paro.
Coronavirus Live updates: Bharat Biotech seeks DCGI nod to conduct phase-1 trial of intranasal COVID-19 vaccine
Bharat Biotech on January 8 sent a proposal to DCGI seeking approval to conduct Phase 1 trial of its nasal COVID-19 vaccine. The company has received emergency approval for its two-dose coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin, on January 3.
The company has tied up with Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis for the novel "chimp-adenovirus" (Chimpanzee adenovirus), a single-dose intranasal vaccine for COVID-19.
"BBV154 (intranasal COVID-19 vaccine), preclinical testing has been completed for toxicology, immunogenicity and challenge studies. These studies have been conducted in the USA and India. Phase I human clinical trials will commence during Feb-March 2021," Bharat Biotech had said.
Coronavirus Live updates: UK imposes mandatory COVID-19 tests for international travellers
International arrivals from anywhere in the world, including India, will now be required to prove a negative COVID-19 test taken up to 72 hours prior to departure for the UK, as part of new measures announced on Friday to contain the spread of new variants of coronavirus circulating internationally. Passengers will be subject to an immediate fine of 500 pounds if they fail to comply with the new regulations on pre-departure testing.
Starting next week, inbound passengers arriving by boat, plane or train will have to take a test up to 72 hours before departing the country they are in and could be denied boarding without this. We already have significant measures in place to prevent imported cases of COVID-19, but with new strains of the virus developing internationally we must take further precautions, said UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
Coronavirus Live updates | Intranasal COVID-19 vaccine: Bharat Biotech likely to start clinical trial soon
After getting emergency approval for its maiden coronavirus vaccine, Bharat Biotech is all set to commence the clinical trials of intranasal COVID-19 vaccine in February-March, reported news agency PTI. The Hyderabad-based pharma major has tied up with Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis to develop novel "chimp-adenovirus" (Chimpanzee adenovirus), a single doseintranasalvaccine for COVID-19. Dubbed as BBV154, the preclinical trial of its intranasal COVID-19 vaccine was already completed for toxicology, immunogenicity and challenge studies.
"These studies have been conducted in the USA and India. Phase I human clinical trials will commence during Feb-March, 2021," Bharat Biotech told PTI. The trial will be be conducted in India, Bharat Biotech added. It will be held in Saint Louis University's Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit, according to the news agency.
Syringes containing the COVID-19 vaccine are shown, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at John Knox Village in Pompano Beach, Fla. Ninety residents and 80 staff members received their second shot of the vaccine Wednesday and 50 new staff members received their first round of the vaccine.
Coronavirus Live updates: Two more life-saving COVID-19 drugs found; UK to start using tocilizumab and sarilumab
Two new drugs, typically used for arthritis, have been found to have a significant impact on COVID-19, by reducing mortality by 8.5 percent, a new study has shown. The drugs also speed up patients' recovery and reduce the length of time that critically-ill patients need to spend in intensive care units (ICUs), showed the study on the efficacy of interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antagonists in critically ill COVID-19 patients.
The international study known as the REMAP-CAP trial has shown that the two drugs - tocilizumab and sarilumab - reduced mortality rate in COVID-19 patients from 35.8 percent in a control group to 27.3 percent. The latest analysis is published in a pre-print available on medRxiv, with the findings submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. For the full analysis, 353 patients had been assigned to tocilizumab, 48 to sarilumab and 402 to standard care (control). The majority of patients were also treated with corticosteroids and were receiving respiratory support.
Coronavirus Live updates: EU doubles Covid vaccine deal with Pfizer to 600 million doses
The European Union reached a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for 300 million additional doses of their COVID-19 vaccine, doubling the amount of doses from these producers, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.
"The European Commission today proposed to the EU Member States to purchase an additional 200 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by BioNTech and Pfizer, with the option to acquire another 100 million doses," it said in a statement.
"This would enable the EU to purchase up to 600 million doses of this vaccine, which is already being used across the EU," the statement said. Von der Leyen said 75 million of the additional doses would be delivered in the second quarter of this year
Coronavirus Live updates: Iran leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei bans imports of US, British COVID-19 vaccines
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday banned the government from importing new coronavirus vaccines from the United States and Britain. "Imports of U.S. and British vaccines into the country are banned. I have told this to officials and I'm saying it publicly now," Khamenei said in live televised speech. "If the Americans were able to produce a vaccine, they would not have such a coronavirus fiasco in their own country," he said.
Coronavirus Live updates: Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao to hold meeting on vaccine distribution, resuming classes in educational institutions
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would hold a meeting with Ministers, district Collectors and other officials on January 11 on crucial issues, including finalisation of an action plan on distribution of COVID-19 vaccine and resuming classes in educational institutions in the state. The meeting would discuss the spread of COVID-19, the measures taken to contain its spread and administering the coronavirus vaccine to people, an official release said on Friday.
"An action plan will be finalised at the meeting on distributing the vaccine to all the regions and administering the vaccine to the people on a prioritised method," it said. The meeting would also see a threadbare discussion on when to resume classes in educational institutions and other issues, including students from which standard (class) are to be allowed, how to conduct the classes, the methods being followed in other states, it said.
The other subjects on the agenda for the meeting on January 11, include revenue department matters, the state government's flagship green drive of 'Harita Haram' and 'Palle Pragati' (progress of villages) and 'Pattana Pragati' (progress of towns) programmes.
Coronavirus Live updates: Cutting COVID-19 infectious period even by one day could prevent millions of cases, study says
A vaccine or medication that could shorten the infectious period of COVID-19 in patients, even by one day, may potentially prevent millions of cases and save billions of dollars, according to a new modelling study.
The research, published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology, noted that some vaccines and drugs may have subtler effects by which even if they cannot prevent or cure COVID-19, they may still reduce how long an infected person is contagious.
In the study, scientists including those from the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health in the US, assessed the potential value of shortening the infectious period in COVID-19 patients.
The researchers created a computational model that simulates the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 and used it to explore how a vaccine or medication that can reduce the contagious period might alleviate the clinical and economic impact of the disease.
Coronavirus Live updates: PM Modi should take COVID vaccine first, says RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav
After Manish Tewari and Akhilesh Yadav have shown concerns regarding Covid-19 vaccine, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tej Pratap Yadav today joined the opposition who are against taking the vaccine shot.
The RJD leader on Friday told ANI, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take the first shot of Covid-19 vaccine, then, we will also take it." The comments come three days after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said that the state government was all prepared for administering Covid 19 vaccinations across the state.
Coronavirus Live updates: Three new cases take Mizoram's COVID-19 tally to 4,259
Mizoram on Friday reported three new COVID-19 cases, pushing the state'stally to 4,259, a health department official said. All the three cases were reported from Aizawl district, he said. "One new patient has recently returned from Uttarkhand and another was found during contact tracing, while it is yet to be ascertained how the remaining one person contracted the disease," the official said.
Two new cases were detected through rapid antigen tests and one through RT-PCR at Zoram Medical College, he said. Mizoram now has 79 active cases, while 4,172 people have recovered from the disease so far and eight died. The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state stands at 97.96 percent. Altogether, 1,85,161 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in the state so far, including 1,092 on Thursday.
Coronavirus Live updates: Puducherry logs 20 new COVID-19 cases, tally rises to 38,389
The union territory of Puducherry reported 20 new coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours taking the overall tally to 38,389, a top Health department official said on Friday, The 20 new cases were identified after the examination of 3,411 samples, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release. No fresh fatality was reported during the last 24 hours and the toll remained at 636, he added.
As many as 36 patients were discharged after recovery during the last 24 hours from hospitals. The Puducherry region accounted for 11 of the 20 new infections while the Mahe region reported nine, he said, adding the Karaikal and Yanam regions did not log any cases. The fatality and recovery rates were 1.66 per cent and 97.45 per cent respectively.
The Director said that as many as 5.09 lakh samples have been tested so far of which 4.66 lakh were found to be negative. The Health department Director said there were 343 active cases while 37,410 patients had recovered and were discharged so far.
Coronavirus Live updates: Australia PM Scott Morrison announces new travel restrictions as Brisbane enters 3-day lockdown over UK variant infection
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday announced new travel restrictions and described as “serious” the situation in Brisbane where a cleaner at a hotel was diagnosed with the highly transmissible UK variant of COVID-19, prompting the authorities to announce a three-day lockdown in the country’s third-largest city.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the lockdown after informing on Twitter that a cleaner working at a Brisbane quarantine hotel had tested positive for the UK strain of COVID-19.
“Following a confirmed case of the highly infections UK coronavirus strain, Greater Brisbane will be entering a three day lockdown. From 6pm Friday until 6pm Monday, Local Government Areas of Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redlands and Logan will enter a three-day lockdown. Stay home and stay safe this weekend,” she tweeted.
"Your safety is our number one priority. For the next three days, we’re asking people in Greater Brisbane to stay at home. If you need to leave your home, masks are mandatory. If we don’t do this now, it could end up being a 30-day lockdown,” she said.
Following the infection in Brisbane, Prime Minister Morrison announced new travel measures in a bid to curb the spread of more infectious strains of COVID-19 in the community, including flight crews now subject to stricter conditions and testing
Coronavirus Live updates: London's population to drop for first time in 30 years amid COVID-19, Brexit double whammy
London’s population is set to fall for the first time in the last 30 years. Accountancy firm PwC has said the number of people living in London could fall by more than three lakh this year.
With the economic fallout from COVID-19 pandemic and rise in unemployment, the population could drop to as low as 8.7 million from about 9 million in 2020, the report said, adding that this would be the first annual drop since 1988.
One of the major drivers causing the population drop is the coronavirus pandemic and resultant lockdown. The shut down prompted residents to rethink their living situation and a boom in work from home resulted in migration outside the city, the report said.
Coronavirus Live updates: Airlines, pharma companies in talks to work out logistics for COVID-19 vaccines, says report
Indian airlines are in discussions with pharmaceutical manufacturers to facilitate the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines across the country after the country's drug regulator cleared two jabs for emergency use.
Plans are afoot for the transportation and delivery of millions of doses to expedite the vaccination programme the rollout of which is expected in the next few days. Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the vaccination programme may begin on January 13.
A civil aviation ministry official told Mint that airlines’ cargo facilities will be used to distribute the vaccines. The business comes as good news for aviation firms who took a big hit due to the coronavirus.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
Coronavirus Live updates: Pfizer study suggests vaccine works against the new coronavirus variant
New research suggests that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine can protect against a mutation found in two highly contagious variants of the coronavirus that erupted in Britain and South Africa.
Those variants are causing global concern. They both share a common mutation called N501Y, a slight alteration on one spot of the spike protein that coats the virus. That change is believed to be the reason they can spread so easily.
Most of the vaccines being rolled out around the world train the body to recognize that spike protein and fight it. Pfizer teamed with researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston for laboratory tests to see if the mutation affected its vaccine’s ability to do so.
They used blood samples from 20 people who received the vaccine, made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, during a large study of the shots. Antibodies from those vaccine recipients successfully fended off the virus in lab dishes, according to the study posted late Thursday on an online site for researchers.
Coronavirus Live updates: 82 people have tested positive for new UK mutant strain in India so far, says Health Ministry
The total number of people in India who have been infected by the new United Kingdom strain of SARS-Cov-2 has risen to 82, the health ministry said on January 8.
The number of people infected by the new variant of the novel coronavirus, that causes COVID-19, stood at 73 till January 6, it added.
"The total number of cases infected with the new strain of the novel coronavirus, first reported in the UK, now stands at 82,” the ministry said.
The ministry also said that India continues to report low daily cases with 18,139 infections being added in the previous 24 hours. The active caseload also continued to decline, falling to 2.25 lakh.
Coronavirus Live updates: COVID-19: India will be able to vaccinate entire population soon, says Harsh Vardhan
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday said soon it would be a reality to vaccinate the entire population in the country against COVID-19 after prioritising risk groups.
The Centre has started a new COVID platform to track particulars of potential vaccine beneficiaries and also issue electronic certificates to them, he told reporters after reviewing the dry run of administering COVID-19 vaccine at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital here as part of a state-wide programme.
India, he said, has done extremely well in developing vaccines in the shortest possible time, and presently two vaccines have been given emergency use authorisation.
"In the next few days, also in the near future, we should be able to give this vaccine to our countrymen prioritising those who are at risk in public and private sectors. The government has already made known the scheme of things," he added
Coronavirus Live updates: Active Covid-19 cases in India account for 2.16% of total caseload
The steady fall in the number of new cases of coronavirus in India has ensured the contraction of its active caseload, which stands at 2,25,449, as of the date and accounts for only 2.16% of the total infections, the health ministry said on Friday.
Friday's tally was 10% lower than Thursday and 254 new deaths took the total number of fatalities to 1,50,570.
Only 18,139 people tested positive for the viral disease in the country in a span of 24 hours, it said, adding that with 20,539 recoveries in the period, a net decline of 2,634 cases in the number of active cases was registered.
Providing figures that show the change in the number of active cases in a span of 24 hours, the ministry said Maharashtra recorded the maximum positive change with an addition of 307 cases, whereas Kerala showed the maximum negative change with a drop of 613 cases.
Coronavirus Live updates: Karnataka to receive 13.90 lakh vaccine vials in a couple of days, says Health Minister K Sudhakar
Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Friday said the state is expected to receive 13,90,000 vials of vaccine against COVID-19 in a day or two.
"The big good news for Karnataka is that I have received information from the Union Health Ministry that tomorrow or the day after probably we will be receiving 13,90,000 vials of vaccine for the state. It's a big happy news for all of us," Sudhakar said.
Speaking to reporters after visiting a private hospital, where vaccination dry run is being conducted, he said, the vaccination will be first administered to health care workers.
