India recorded 24,010 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday, while the national recovery rate stood at over 95 per cent, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry today.
India's coronavirus caseload mounted to 99,356,557 with 24,010 infections being reported in a day, while the deaths rose to 1,44,451 with 355 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am on Thursday showed.
There are 3,322,366 active coronavirus infections in the country which constitute 3.24 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
Meanwhile, Professor Randeep Guleria, the chief of Delhi's prestigious All-India Institute of Medical Sciences told NDTV on Wednesday that it could take up to six months before a sufficient number of people could be vaccinated to break the chain of coronavirus transmission and another six months before life could get close to the pre-Covid days.
"I'm hopeful that in the next six months, we will have two things. A sufficient number of people who have got the infection and recovered and have some kind of immunity and people who will get the vaccine," Professor Guleria told NDTV. Together, they should break the chain of transmission of the virus, he added.
Here are the highlights on coronavirus (COVID-19) cases:
Mumbai: A man dressed as Santa Claus carried out sanitization & distributed masks to people in Rani Lakshmi Chowk area.
- ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2020
He says, "Every year I used to distribute chocolates and gifts to children but this year I decided to contribute my bit to fight against COVID-19." #Christmas pic.twitter.com/DO4UHyG5Kf


The United States on Wednesday reported its highest single-day deaths due to COVID-19, with 3,656 deaths and 276,403 new cases, The Hill reported citing Johns Hopkins University.
Wednesday marked the fourth day since the pandemic began that the US surpassed 3,000 COVID-19 deaths in a day. It also was the 44th consecutive day that the US confirmed more than 100,000 new cases in a day.
On Thursday, the US recorded over 17 million cases and 307,512 fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Johns Hopkins University data.
Currently, the COVID-19-related hospitalizations have reached a record 113,090, including 21,936 patients in the intensive care unit and 7,778 on ventilators, The Hill reported citing The COVID Tracking Project.
Delhi recorded 1,363 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday with over 90,000 tests conducted, the highest till date, even as the positivity rate slipped to 1.51 per cent, authorities said.
The death count mounted to 10,182 with 35 new fatalities, they said.
This is the third consecutive day when the positivity rate remained below 2 per cent.
These 1,363 fresh cases, lowest since August 31, came out the record 90,354 tests conducted the previous day, including 49,102 RT-PCR tests and 41,252 rapid antigen tests, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.
On August 31, the city had recorded 1,358 cases.
Andhra Pradesh's COVID-19 tally increased to 8.77 lakh on Thursday as 534 cases were
reported a new.
In 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday, 498 patients had recovered, taking the total recoveries to 8,65,825.
The overall count rose to 7,069 as two more fatalities were reported in a day, the latest bulletin said.
The state now has 4,454 active coronavirus cases.
Chittoor once again reported the highest 130 cases afresh in a day while the 12 other districts added less than 100 each.
In fact, Chittoor has been reporting relatively more new cases of Covid-19 over the past few days.
In the last eight days, the district saw an addition of 746 new cases, the highest in the state.
At the same time, it also had 704 recoveries and only two deaths, as a result of which the active caseload increased by 40 to 505.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday said that if the Centre gives its nod by the end of this month to carry out COVID-19 vaccination at mass level, then around three crore people could be given the vaccine in the state in the first round.
He made the statement while speaking to reporters. Mr Tope also urged the Centre to carry out free COVID-19 vaccination in the country.
"If the Centre gives permission for mass vaccination by December end, then Maharashtra can carry out the process at the mass level from January. Our preparation is going on, wherein around three crore people can be administered the vaccine," he said.
The district administration is gearing up for the coronavirus vaccination programme and has so far prepared a database of nearly 34,000 health workers who will be inoculated on priority basis, an official said on Thursday.
Delhi recorded 1,363 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday with over 90,000 tests conducted, the highest till date, even as the positivity rate slipped to 1.51 per cent, authorities said.
The death count mounted to 10,182 with 35 new fatalities, they said.
This is the third consecutive day when the positivity rate remained below 2 per cent. These 1,363 fresh cases, lowest since August 31, came out of the record 90,354 tests conducted the previous day, including 49,102 RT-PCR tests and 41,252 rapid antigen tests, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.
On August 31, the city had recorded 1,358 cases.
The positivity rate from December 3 to December 7 had successively dipped to 4.96 per cent, 4.78 per cent, 4.2 per cent, 3.68 per cent and 3.15 per cent respectively. However, on December 8 it had risen again to 4.23 per cent, but fell to 3.42 per cent on December 9 and 2.46 per cent on December 10.
Andhra Pradesh's COVID-19 tally increased to 8.77 lakh on Thursday as 534 cases were
The Japanese capital Tokyo, faced with acute strains on its medical system from the COVID-19 pandemic, raised its alert level to the highest of four stages on Thursday as the number of new cases spiked to a record daily high of 822
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was in quarantine Thursday after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, who tested positive for Covid-19, his office announced.
Sanchez will be tested "without delay" for the virus, and will "respect the quarantine until December 24," which will be 10 days since he met with Macron in Paris, his office said in a statement.
Macron tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, the French presidency said, adding that he would now self-isolate for the next week.
Sanchez cancelled all items on his agenda for the coming days, starting with his attendance at a ceremony on Thursday at which King Felipe is to open an exhibition.
The Socialist leader attended a number of events in Paris on Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, including a lunch with Macron.
The person was admitted to the emergency room and was given Pepcid, Benadryl and epinephrine through an intravenous drip. The patient stayed overnight and is in stable condition, according to the Alaska health department.
With two more persons dying due to the disease, the death toll has gone up to 7,069. The state has 4,454 active cases.
Delhi's state immunisation officer and immunisation technical support unit of United Nations Development Programme have already received training from the Centre and they have now started the state-level training in Delhi. Those who are trained in the current sessions will then train the officials across 11 districts of Delhi.
"People are unwilling to participate in the trial because they think that a vaccine is coming for everyone soon. AIIMS Delhi needs 1,500- 2,000 participants for phase-3 trial of Covaxin, but only 200 have enrolled so far," Dr Rai told NDTV.
The refusal rate of phase-3 trial is much higher than for phase 1 and phase 2 trials, which was less than 10 per cent, he said.
Earlier this week, health authorities asked citizens and residents to register to receive the vaccine, which they said would be given free to all in the country.
The kingdom has reported around 360,000 cases coronavirus case with 6,080 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Although it began lifting restrictions several months ago, the country has so far avoided a new wave of infections.
Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday declared that the vaccination drive for coronavirus will be conducted in three stages across the state.
According to a press note issued in Hindi, in the first stage health workers will be vaccinated in hospitals; in the second stage municipal corporation workers, military and police personnel will be vaccinated. The third stage, people above 50 years will be vaccinated.
"Those who are Covid positive will not be eligible for the vaccine," the release said.
Speaking at his annual press conference, the 68-year-old said citizens in other age groups were receiving the Russian-made vaccine against COVID-19 before he could have access to it.
"I am a fairly law-abiding person," Putin said, asked if he had been inoculated against COVID-19. "I listen to the recommendations of our specialists. So I haven't had the shot yet. But I will absolutely do it as soon as that becomes possible."
Macron will now, in accordance with national regulations, "self isolate for seven days. He will continue to work and carry out his activities remotely," it said.
The French president is one of several heads of state and government around the world who have contracted Covid-19, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump.
"We need 1,000 to 1,500 volunteers for phase 3 of COVAXIN clinical trial. But we have only 200 odd volunteers so far": Dr Sanjay Rai, AIIMS Delhi tells NDTV's Sukirti Dwivedi pic.twitter.com/cpW9tQeQaE
- NDTV (@ndtv) December 17, 2020


Germany will begin coronavirus vaccinations on December 27 with elderly care home residents, Health Minister Jens Spahn announced Wednesday, with the European Union aiming for all 27 member states to begin on the same day.

US Vice President Mike Pence and his wife will get the Covid-19 vaccine Friday in a public display designed to boost national confidence, the White House announced Wednesday.