India Coronavirus Cases: COVID-19 case fatality rate has further declined to 1.47%. (Representational)
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 87.28 lakh on Friday with a single-day increase of 44,879 cases, while the recoveries surged to 81,15,580, pushing the national recovery rate to 92.97 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The death count reached 1,28,668 after 547 more fatalities were reported in the country in a span of 24 hours and the total coronavirus cases mounted to 87,28,795, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The COVID-19 case fatality rate has further declined to 1.47 per cent.
There are 4,84,547 active cases in the country which comprise 5.55 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 12,31,01,739 samples have been tested so far with 11,39,230 samples being tested on Thursday.
Here are the LIVE updates on Coronavirus Cases:
Greece Find COVID-19 Among Mink At Two FarmsGreek authorities have found COVID-19 in mink at two farms in northern Greece, an agriculture ministry official said on Friday.
The COVID-19 strain in the mink had not mutated, the official said, adding that 2,500 mink at one farm in the northern Kozani region would be culled.
The discovery comes days after Danish authorities launched a plan to cull Denmark's entire population of 17 million mink after discovering a different strain of coronavirus in the animals.
Read Indian-Origin Doctor Dies Of COVID In UK. Hospital Pays TributeA UK hospital on Friday paid moving tributes to a "dedicated and committed" Indian-origin doctor after his death from COVID-19.
Dr Krishnan Subramanian, 46, was working with Royal Derby Hospital of the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation (UHDB). He died on Thursday at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.
The trust said that a minute's silence will be held in his memory at the main entrance of Royal Derby Hospital at 11 am local time on Monday.
Read Andhra Pradesh reports 1,593 new COVID-19 cases
As many as 1,593 new coronavirus cases were reported in Andhra Pradesh, taking the tally of total positive cases to 8,51,298, as per the State Health Department on Friday.
According to figures given by the state government, a total of 8,24,189 people have recovered from coronavirus while the number of fatalities stands at 6,847. The active cases in the state stand at 20,262.
Gujarat: No leave for govt doctors, healthcare staff in Diwali
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the state government doctors and healthcare staff in Gujarat will not get leave during Diwali, an official release said on Friday.
The directive came from Commissioner of Health Jai Prakash Shivahare.
During the current festival season, leave should be granted to government doctors and healthcare staff only in the case of illness or unavoidable circumstances, and that too after ensuring replacement, it said.
Coronavirus update: 4 New Coronavirus Cases Found In Dharavi
With four new cases, the tally of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai's Dharavi area increased to 3,615 on Friday, the officials.
The slum-dominated area had reported three new infections on Thursday.
As many as 3,272 patients have recovered so far while there are 32 active COVID-19 cases in the area considered to be the largest slum in Asia with a population of over 6.5 lakh.
Coronavirus lockdown in France to remain in effect until December: Prime Minister
France has announced that the nationwide stay-at-home regime will remain in effect amid still disturbing indicators of the COVID-19 virus'' evolution in the country.
"Together with the President of the Republic [Emmanuel Macron], we decided this morning in the Council of defense and national security to keep unchanged, at least for the next fifteen days, the rules of lockdown intended to fight against COVID-19," French Prime Minister Jean Castex tweeted late on Thursday.
Assam Chief Minister Stops Car To Buy Diwali Lamps From Roadside VendorAssam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal stopped his car to buy earthen lamps, or diyas, from a roadside vendor in Guwahati ahead of Diwali.
Mr Sonowal said he chose to buy Diwali lamps from a local vendor to promote small businesses, the use of traditional earthen diyas and a cracker-free Diwali in Assam.
Mr Sonowal's push for a cracker-free Diwali comes in the backdrop of Assam allowing bursting of "green crackers" across the state, barring areas around the Guwahati Refinery, Oil India pumping stations and oil pipelines in Guwahati.
Read Coronavirus Live: World Intensive Care Body Advises Against Remdesivir For Sickest COVID Patients
Antiviral remdesivir should not be used as a routine treatment for COVID-19 patients in critical care wards, the head of one of the world's top bodies representing intensive care doctors said, in a blow to the drug developed by US firm Gilead.
Remdesivir, also known as Veklury, and steroid dexamethasone are the only drugs authorised to treat COVID-19 patients across the world. But the largest study on remdesivir's efficacy, run by the World Health Organization (WHO), showed on Oct. 15 it had little or no impact, contradicting previous trials.
COVID-19 Live Updates: Russian cases hit record as Moscow overnight closures begin
Russian COVID cases hit record as Moscow overnight closures begin MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia reported a record 21,983 new coronavirus infections on Friday as Moscow prepared to close restaurants and bars overnight in an effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite a recent surge, Russian authorities have resisted imposing lockdown restrictions as they did earlier this year, stressing instead the importance of hygiene, social distancing and bringing in targeted measures in certain regions
Moscow, which reported 5,974 new cases in the past 24 hours, has ordered bars, restaurants and nightclubs to close between 11 p.m and 6 a.m from Friday until mid-January.
Coronavirus Live Updates: China's sweeping COVID controls put frozen food importers on iceThe WHO says the risk of catching COVID-19 from frozen food is low, but China has repeatedly sounded alarms after detecting the virus on packaging of products ranging from German pork knuckles to Ecuadorian shrimp, triggering disruptive import bans.China, which has used drastic measures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, this week tightened restrictions requiring "full coverage" testing and disinfection of imported food products, following a smattering of positive samples detected on beef, pork and seafood.
The country has suspended imports of 99 suppliers from 20 countries, the National Health Commission said on Thursday.
Beijing argues that such measures are needed prevent the import of the virus, which has been largely contained domestically
Coronavirus Live Updates: New York rolls out curbs as virus grips US, Europe
Bars and restaurants in America's biggest city will close early from Friday as the coronavirus outbreak surges across the United States and Europe, where Greece is being forced into a nighttime curfew.
It comes as the US, already the world's hardest-hit country, experiences its third and worst-by-far spike in infections, and large parts of Europe shut down again to tackle the illness.
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that all establishments licensed to sell alcohol, including bars and restaurants, should close at 10 pm.
Also launching new restrictions is Greece, which begins a nighttime curfew Friday after its leader said the country had been overwhelmed by a "tsunami" of infections.
New York was the early epicenter of America's coronavirus pandemic, but hotspots have since popped up across the country, leaving practically no region in the US unaffected.
Coronavirus Live Updates: 66 Indians tested COVID-19 positive in Sri LankaSixty-six Indian nationals, all workers at a construction site in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, have tested positive for COVID-19, a top health official said on Friday.
"They have been lodged in the north Colombo area where they were identified as the first level contacts of the positive cases from the fish market cluster," Colombo city's chief medical officer Dr Ruwan Wijemuni told PTI.
Wijemuni said the construction site workers, all Indians, "were found coronavirus positive from random tests conducted -- the first batch of 19 was followed by another 47".
All of them are being treated at the interim treatment centre at Dharga Town, he said.
The National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID said the fish market cluster has emerged as the biggest source of the deadly viral infection in Lanka.
COVID-19 Live Updates: "Something Bogus Going On", Says Elon Musk On Results After 4 Covid TestsTesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk questioned the accuracy of COVID-19 tests on Thursday after claiming that results showed he tested positive twice and then negative twice all on the same day.
"Something extremely bogus is going on. Was tested for covid four times today. Two tests came back negative, two came back positive. Same machine, same test, same nurse. Rapid antigen test from BD," Musk said in a tweet, possibly referring to Becton Dickinson and Co's rapid antigen test.
Coronavirus LIVE updates: COVID-19 test mandatory for people coming to Lucknow from other states on DiwaliPeople coming to Lucknow from other states, particulary Delhi and its adjoining areas, for Diwali will have to mandatorily undergo COVID-19 test at bus stands, railway stations and the airport, an official said on Friday.
Thirteen teams of the Health Department have been deployed at all bus stands, railway stations and the airport for screening those coming to the state capital for Diwali and contact details of the passengers will also be noted down, Lucknow Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Sanjay Bhatnagar said.
All the suspected cases would be tested in their homes, Bhatnagar said, adding that this step was being taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus during the festive season.
So far, 66,237 COVID-19 cases and 917 deaths have been recorded in Lucknow.
Special precaution is being taken with people coming to the state capital to celebrate Diwali, particulary from Delhi and its adjoining areas, Dr Bhatnagar said, adding that people coming from Mumbai are also on the radar of the Health Department.
Coronavirus news: No let up in COVID-19 tests, 2nd wave likely in Jan-Feb, says Maharashtra governmentAnticipating a second COVID-19 wave in January-February, the Maharashtra government has asked the authorities to ensure there is no complacency in testing and said labs should be functional in every district and municipal corporation limits.
A circular from the government's health services directorate dated November 11 said a second wave of the pandemic is likely in January-February.
The second wave is expected based on what is happening in Europe, it said.
The circular said since October, the number of COVID- 19 cases in Maharashtra has showed signs of decline.
The second wave of the virus has hit many countries, especially those in Europe, it said.
COVID-19: Puducherry adds 75 new casesPuducherry reported 75 fresh coronavirus cases while a 68-year old woman succumbed to the infection taking the toll in the union territory to 608, a top Health department official said on Friday.
The 75 new cases took the overall tally in the union territory to 36,252 after transfer of two cases to Tamil Nadu, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release.
As many as 70 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, he added.
The fatality and recovery rates were 1.68 per cent and 95.36 per cent respectively.
COVID-19 situation in Delhi should come under control in 7-10 days; we are considering taking several steps next week, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
COVID-19: Odisha reports 1,018 new cases, 12 more fatalitiesAt least 1,018 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Odisha, raising the tally to 3,07,004 on Friday, while 12 fresh fatalities pushed the count to 1,495, a health department official said.
Of the 1,018 new cases, 585 were reported from various quarantine centres and the rest detected during contact tracing. All 30 districts in the coastal state have recorded less than 100 cases.
Sundergarh recorded the maximum number of new cases 94, followed by Mayurbhanj at 86 and Khurda at 83.
Taking to Twitter, the Health and Family Welfare department said, "Regret to inform the demise of twelve #COVID19 positive patients while under treatment in hospitals."
Coronavirus news: Developed Nations Need To Do More On Curbing Virus Impact, says India At G-77Coronavirus pandemic cannot be used as an excuse to not fulfill the commitments of the developed countries or to undermine environmental conventions, said TS Tirumurti, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Addressing the 75th Session of UNGA 44th Annual Meeting of the G-77 Foreign Ministers through video conferencing, TS Tirumurti urged the developed countries to undertake activities to strengthen "Convention-Plus" actions and not do "Convention-Minus".
"2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement and Financing for Development framework should lay the foundations for our efforts. We need to impress on our developed country partners to do more and show the necessary urgency," he said.
He further said, "Covid pandemic cannot be used as an excuse to not fulfill their commitments or to undermine environmental conventions. We call on them to undertake activities to strengthen "Convention-Plus" actions and not do "Convention-Minus".
COVID-19: Arunachal Pradesh reports 44 new cases, one more deathArunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 15,701 as 44 more people, including four security personnel, tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Friday.
The death count increased to 47 after a 61-year-old man from Tirap district succumbed to the infection, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.
"The COVID positive patient died on Wednesday due to acute respiratory failure. He was also suffering from malignant bowel obstruction," the official said.
Of the new cases, 13 were reported from the Capital Complex region, seven from West Kameng district, five from Changlang and four from East Siang, the SSO said.
COVID-19: China finds coronavirus on packaging of Brazilian beef
The Chinese city of Wuhan said on Friday it had detected the novel coronavirus on the packaging of a batch of Brazilian beef, as it ramped up testing of frozen foods this week as part of a nationwide campaign.
The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said in a statement on its website it had found three positive samples on the outer packaging of frozen, boneless beef from Brazil.
The beef had entered the country at Qingdao port on Aug. 7 and it reached Wuhan on Aug. 17, where it remained in a cold storage facility until recently.
The novel coronavirus first emerged in the central Chinese city late last year, at a market, and has gone on to spread around the world.
COVID-19: Brazil's death count tops 1,64,000
Brazil on Thursday reported 908 deaths from COVID-19, raising the nationwide death count to 1,64,281.
Meanwhile, the Latin American country registered 33,207 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the accumulated national caseload to 5,781,582.
For the first time since November 5, the government was able to post the latest figures on its COVID-19 website, which suffered an alleged cyber attack.
Also, several states had not released figures in recent days due to difficulty uploading the data to the government website.
Brazil has the world's second-highest COVID-19 death count, after the United States, and the third-largest number of COVID-19 cases, after the United States and India.
Coronavirus news: Comprehensive, high testing pivotal in curbing COVID-19, says Health Ministry
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Friday said that the strategy to curb the chain of COVID-19 transmission was in comprehensive and high testing across the nation.
"Comprehensive and high testing is pivotal in the strategy to curb the chain of transmission. From a few tests in January, India has scaled a high of more than 12 crore total tests in November," MoHFW said.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 12,31,01,739 samples have been tested for coronavirus up to November 12, of these, 11,39,230 samples were tested yesterday.
COVID-19: Maharashtra's Thane district registers 535 new cases, 12 deathsAs many as 535 new coronavirus cases were reported in Thane district of Maharashtra, taking its tally to 2,18,000, an official said on Friday.
The official said COVID-19 deaths in the district rose to 5,501 after 12 more patients succumbed to the infection on Thursday.
He said the recovery rate in the district was 94.35 per cent (2,05,686) and mortality rate 2.52 per cent (5,501).
The district's active cases stood at 6,813.
The caseload in some of the prominent civic limits was: Thane city 48,516, Kalyan 51,393, Mira Bhayander 23,279 and Navi Mumbai 45,860.
COVID-19: India's recovery rate rises to 92.97%India's COVID-19 tally rose to 87.28 lakh on Friday with a single-day increase of 44,879 cases, while the recoveries surged to 81,15,580, pushing the national recovery rate to 92.97 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry's data.
The death count reached 1,28,668 after 547 more fatalities were reported in the country in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The COVID-19 case fatality rate has further declined to 1.47 per cent.
There are 4,84,547 active cases in the country which comprise 5.55 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
COVID-19: 13 new cases push tally of Andamans to 4,507The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands mounted to 4,507 as 13 more people tested
positive for the infection, a health department official said on Friday.
The death count rose to 61 after a patient succumbed to the disease in the Union Territory, he said.
Three new patients have travel history, while 10 fresh infections were detected during contract tracing, the official said.
Fifteen more people were cured of the disease on Thursday, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 4,282, he said.
The Union Territory has 164 active coronavirus cases, the official said.
COVID-19: Jharkhand reports 269 new cases, four fresh fatalitiesJharkhand's COVID-19 tally rose to 1,05,493 as 269 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Friday.
Four new fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death count to 917, he said.
The fresh deaths were reported from Ranchi, Palamu, Latehar and Chatra. Ranchi district reported the highest number of new cases at 65, followed by East Singhbhum (49) and Dhanbad (43), the official said.
The state now has 3,668 active coronavirus cases, while 1,00,908 people have been cured of the disease so far, he said.
Coronavirus news: Alaska congressman who ridiculed coronavirus now says he has COVID-19The Alaska congressman who once ridiculed the seriousness of the novel coronavirus, calling it the "beer virus," said on Thursday he is now infected with it.
The announcement by Representative Don Young comes as the state's governor on Thursday warned that health-care and public-safety systems were at risk of being overwhelmed by the rapid spread of the virus across Alaska.Young, the 87-year-old Republican who is Alaska's sole U.S House of Representatives member, made the announcement on Twitter.
"I have tested positive for COVID-19. I am feeling strong, following proper protocols, working from home in Alaska, and ask for privacy at this time," he said on the Twitter post.Young, who was just re-elected to his 25th term and is the longest-serving member of Congress, said in March that COVID-19 concerns were "created primarily by hysteria."I call it the beer virus How do you like that?" he said in a March speech at a senior center in Palmer, Alaska, in a mocking reference to Corona beer.
COVID-19: US sets new record with over 1,50,000 new cases in single day
Public health officials in the US announced over 152,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the first day over 150,000 since the pandemic began, an alarming record that came just over a week after the country first experienced 100,000 cases in a single day.
Hospitalisations for COVID-19 also set a record on Thursday, climbing to 67,096, according to the Covid Tracking Project. It was the third straight day of record numbers, and the figure has doubled in just five weeks.
Meanwhile, deaths are also averaging to over 1,000 each day.
COVID-19: UK reports record daily total of 33,470 cases
The United Kingdom reported 33,470 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the highest daily total to date, as the government struggles to control a second wave of infections.The death count in Britain is higher than the other worst-affected countries in Europe
The number of people killed by coronavirus is only higher in the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico.The government also reported 563 new deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test, down slightly from 595 the previous day.
By the same method of measurement, more than 50,000 people in Britain have died in total."It is clear that infection rates have been going up and what is really important is to get those infection rates down - that is what will reduce deaths (and) the pressure on hospitals," said Stephen Powis, medical director of the National Health Service in England.Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered England back into a month-long national lockdown amid concerns that a rising number of infections could overwhelm the health service.
COVID-19 pandemic cannot be used as excuse by developed countries to undermine environmental conventions: India
Coronavirus pandemic cannot be used as an excuse to not fulfill the commitments of the developed countries or to undermine environmental conventions, said TS Tirumurti, India''s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Addressing the 75th Session of UNGA 44th Annual Meeting of the G-77 Foreign Ministers through video conferencing, Tirumurti urged the developed countries to undertake activities to strengthen "Convention-Plus" actions and not do "Convention-Minus".
"2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement and Financing for Development framework should lay the foundations for our efforts. We need to impress on our developed country partners to do more and show the necessary urgency," he said.
He further said, "Covid pandemic cannot be used as an excuse to not fulfill their commitments or to undermine environmental conventions. We call on them to undertake activities to strengthen "Convention-Plus" actions and not do "Convention-Minus".
Screening travellers at airports for Covid-19 symptoms ineffective: CDC
Screening protocols such as checking temperatures and monitoring symptoms among passengers flying in from countries with high rates of Covid spread are ineffective for air travellers, cites a new report.
Citing the report, CNN said that the enhanced screening programme for air passengers that was started in January had a low case detection rate.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its latest report said that between January 13 and September 13 more than 766,000 travellers were screened.
Andhra Pradesh reports 1,728 new COVID-19 cases
Andhra Pradesh reported 1,728 new cases of COVID-19 taking the tally of total positive cases to 8,49,705, as per the State Health Department on Thursday. According to the State Health Department, a total of 8,22,011 have so far been recovered while the active cases stand at 20,857. Meanwhile, the death toll in the state is 6,837.
COVID-19: Maharashtra reports 4,496 new cases, 122 deaths
A total 4,496 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Maharashtra on Thursday taking the total count of cases to 17,36,329.
According to the State Public Health Department, the recoveries stand at 16,05,064 with 7,809 people recovering today. It said 122 people succumbed to the disease taking the death toll to 45,682.
The active cases of coronavirus stand at 84,627 and the recovery rate is at 92.44 per cent.
UK extends virus travel ban on Denmark for 14 days
Britain has extended its travel ban on Denmark to stop the spread of coronavirus for a further 14 days, the government announced on Thursday.
The strict measures were first announced by the UK on November 7 in response to the threat from a mutated version of Covid-19 found in humans and linked to mink farms.
"Following advice from the Chief Medical Officer, the travel ban introduced on 7th November 2020 on Denmark will also be extended for a further 14 days," the transport ministry said.