India recorded 31,118 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total Covid caseload to over 94.62 lakh. The number of fresh infections is nearly 20 per cent lower than yesterday's. 482 deaths in the last 24 hours have pushed the total death count to 1,37,621. Over 88.89 people in the country have recovered since the beginning of the pandemic. India, which reported its first case on January 30, is the second worst-hit country in the world by the pandemic after the United States.
Here are the top 10 updates on coronavirus:
The number of active cases stands at 4,35,603, according to the data from the Union Health Ministry. Maharashtra, India's worst COVID-19-affected state, added 3,837 new cases, with the total number of infected people reaching 18,23,896. The state also reported 80 deaths, which took the fatality count to 47,151.
Delhi recorded 3,726 new cases and 108 deaths on Monday, taking the fatality figures over 100 again after five days. The low number of cases is likely because of low weekend testing as around 50,000 tests were done in the past 24 hours instead of usual 65,000 on weekdays. Up to 5,824 recoveries have been recorded in the city on Monday. Its overall fatality figure now stands at 5,70,374.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday said that up to 30 crore Indians would be inoculated against COVID-19 by August 2021 according to the central government's plans. He also reiterated the need to follow appropriate protocols to fight off the disease.
The number of cured COVID-19 patients crossed the 10,000-mark in Nagaland on Monday with 188 fresh recoveries. The total number of recoveries in the state now stands at 10,086. The overall number of coronavirus-infected rose to 11,186 with 27 fresh cases.
The Odisha government has allowed re-opening of medical colleges across the state from today, even as it authorised the School & Mass Education and Higher Education departments to decide on resumption of classroom teachings. COVID-19 safety protocols will have to be followed in the medical institutes.
Uttar Pradesh on Monday allowed district magistrates to impose local restrictions like night curfew after evaluating the COVID-19 situation. However, the administration of a state, district, sub-division, or a city cannot impose lockdown outside the containment zone without prior permission from the Centre.
The World Health Organization said on Monday that Mexico is in "bad shape" as COVID-19 infections and deaths surge. The Mexican government has forecast that the pandemic would likely continue worsening until January. The country's fatality figure is the fourth highest in the world at almost 106,000.
California's governor said on Monday that the state was at a COVID-19 "tipping point" as the pandemic would soon overwhelm hospitals even as political leaders across the US turn to increasingly aggressive measures to curb the latest surge. Governor Gavin Newsom said he may clamp new "stay-at-home" orders on California's roughly 40 million people weeks before emergency vaccines are predicted for release.
Moderna said on Monday that it has applied for US emergency authorisation for its COVID-19 vaccine after full results from a late-stage study showed it was 94.1% effective with no serious safety concerns. The US FDA said a meeting will be held on December 17 to discuss the request, making Moderna's candidate the second highly effective vaccine likely to receive US regulatory backing and a potential roll out this year.
A repeated COVID-19 test of Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic was positive, the country's cabinet said. PM Plenkovic went into self-isolation for 10 days on Saturday after his wife tested positive for coronavirus. At the same time, the first test of the head of government was negative.
