Coronavirus: 29,398 Fresh Cases In India, 6.7% Lower Than Yesterday

Maharashtra, with 3,824 fresh cases, remained on top of the worst-hit list of Indian states, with its overall infection number now at 18,68,172. It reported 70 new deaths related to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 47,972 since the outbreak in January.

Other states in the top-five of the worst-hit list are Karnataka with 1,238 fresh cases, followed by Andhra Pradesh (538), Tamil Nadu (1,220), and Kerala (4,470).

The Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital announced on Thursday that it has successfully treated over 10,000 patients since it was declared a dedicated coronavirus facility. The announcement from the hospital drew praise from Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who said that it was the highest number of recoveries from any Covid-dedicated hospital in the country. Located in central Delhi, the hospital was declared a dedicated COVID-19 facility on March 17 this year. It is India's biggest COVID-19 dedicated hospital with 2,000-beds dedicated for the purpose.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, India's largest hospital chain, says it's ready to administer one million coronavirus vaccine doses a day, but the government has not made clear how vaccines will be distributed and whether private health-care networks will be involved. It has so far trained 6,000 staff to give out jabs across its network of 71 hospitals, hundreds of clinics and thousands of pharmacies, according to Managing Director Suneeta Reddy.

Physical classes for senior schoolchildren in Haryana will resume from next week, the state government has informed. Students will have to produce negative Covid test report not older than 72 hours to attend school, it said in a statement. "It has been decided that students of Classes 10 and 12 will be allowed to attend their government or private schools from December 14 for three hours daily - between 10 AM to 1 PM," the Directorate School Education of the Haryana government said in a circular.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday claimed that while a vaccine against Covid-19 was just about a month away, the infectious virus had already been contained in the state. "We are about a month away from the Covid-19 vaccine and the state has already contained the pandemic. Developed countries like the US registered a Covid-19 death rate of about eight per cent, but Uttar Pradesh only saw 1.04 per cent of Covid-19 deaths," Yogi Adityanath said.

Amid heavy deployment at the Singhu border area, two of the Indian Police Service (IPS) officers who led the force where the farmers' protest is ongoing against three farm laws, have tested positive for coronavirus. According to the Delhi Police, both the officers are currently under home isolation. This comes on the 16th day of the farmers' agitation against the Centre's farm laws.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said on Thursday it had pledged $250 million in additional funding towards the global campaign to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Part of the funds will be channelled to the distribution of life-saving doses of Covid-19 vaccines to parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

China's aviation regulator is recommending cabin crew on charter flights to high-risk Covid-19 destinations wear disposable diapers and avoid using the bathroom to reduce the risk of infection. The advice comes in a 38-page list of guidelines for airlines to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The sixth edition echoes similar instructions in previous, less lengthy versions.

The US has set a new grim record of more than 3,000 COVID-19 related deaths in a single day, reflecting a bleak reminder of the pandemic's devastating toll, even as two coronavirus vaccine candidates appear to be on the verge of clearing the country's final regulatory hurdles. According to The COVID Tracking Project, the US on Wednesday reported as many 3,054 reported deaths - the highest single-day total to date. The previous single-day record was on May 7 at 2,769 deaths, it said.