Coronavirus Cases in India: The recovery rate is 94.66 per cent.
India recorded 31,521 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of active coronavirus cases in the country to 3,72,293, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare today. With 37,725 new recoveries, the number of overall recovered COVID-19 patients stand at 97,67,371, pushing the recovery rate to 94.66 per cent.
The overall COVID-19 cases reached 97,67,371, including 3,72,293 active cases and 92,53,306 recoveries. With 412 new deaths, the casualties mounted to 1,41,772.
Meanwhile, Britain's medicine regulator said anyone with a history of anaphylaxis to a medicine or food should not get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, giving fuller guidance on an earlier allergy warning about the shot.
Starting with the elderly and frontline workers, Britain began mass vaccinating its population on Tuesday, part of a global drive that poses one of the biggest logistical challenges in peacetime history.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there had been two reports of anaphylaxis and one report of a possible allergic reaction since rollout began.
Here are the updates on coronavirus (COVID-19) cases:
Coronavirus News: Bengal Reports 46 More COVID Deaths, 2,801 New Cases
West Bengal's COVID-19 death count went up to 8,916 after 46 people died on Thursday, while 2,801 fresh cases of infection took the tally 5,13,752, the health department said in a bulletin in Kolkata, reported news agency PTI. The discharge rate of coronavirus patients in the state improved to 93.70 per cent after 2,951 recoveries were registered on Thursday. So far, 4,81,385 people have been cured of the disease, the bulletin said. The number of active cases at present is 23,451.
Coronavirus News: Bihar Records 595 New COVID-19 Cases, Four Deaths
Bihar on Thursday reported 595 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 2,41,533, as per a bulletin issued by the Health Department, reported news agency PTI. Two COVID-19 patients died in Nawada and two in Supaul district, following which the death count increased to 1,307, it said. A total of 442 people recovered in the last 24 hours. There are 5,286 active cases in the state at present.
Coronavirus News: Assam Reports 146 New COVID-19 Cases, One Death On Thursday
Assam reported 146 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, taking the tally to 2,14,165, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, reported news agency PTI. A 60-year-old man from Dibrugarh, undergoing treatment for COVID-19, died, following which the death count rose to 998, he said. There are 3,516 active cases in the state at present.
Britain to begin coronavirus tests for children after infection spike
The British government said Thursday that it would begin offering coronavirus tests for children aged 11-18 in the worst-affected parts of London and southeast England to try to cut a rise in infections. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was "particularly concerned" about a spike in cases in London, and parts of the counties of Kent and Essex that border the British capital. He said that the data showed the biggest jump among children of secondary school age, which could have a knock-on effect in older people in the weeks to come.
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Coronavirus Live Updates: UK has vaccinated tens of thousands against COVID-19, says minister
Tens of thousands of people in Britain have received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine after a mass vaccination programme began earlier this week, health minister Matt Hancock said. "As of today, we are vaccinating in 73 hospitals across the UK, tens of thousands of people have had the jab," he said.
Coronavirus Live: Karnataka reports 1,238 new COVID-19 cases, 12 deaths
Karnataka's coronavirus tally touched 8.97 lakh with 1,238 new cases and 12 fatalities being reported today, the health department said. The total infections comprise 8.66 lakh discharges, which include 5,076 recorded on Thursday and 19,206 total active cases, a health bulletin issued by the department said. The death count rose to 11,912 with 12 related deaths. Almost all the districts witnessed decline in cases, fatalities and discharges, including Bengaluru urban district.
Coronavirus Live: Mumbai records 798 COVID-19 cases, 13 deaths
Mumbai reported 798 new COVID-19 cases - 12th straight day of sub-1,000 infections - and 13 fresh deaths on Thursday, while 743 more patients were discharged following recovery, the city civic body said. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) updated data, the tally of COVID-19 cases has now increased to 2,88,689, while the death count has reached 10,948.
Coronavirus Live Updates: Madhya Pradesh records 1,319 new Covid cases, seven deaths
Madhya Pradesh has recorded 1,319 new COVID-19 cases, taking the count of infections in the state to 2,19,893, health officials said. With seven more people dying due to the viral infection, the death count reached 3,373, they said. A total of 1,307 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the overall recovery count to 2,03,294.
COVID-19 Live: Delhi records 1,575 new cases, positivity rate dips to 2.46%
The national capital recorded 1,575 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest in over three months, even as the positivity rate dipped to below 3 per cent, authorities said. The positivity rate on December 3, 4, 5, 6 and 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, falling again to 3.42 per cent on December 9.
Coronavirus Live: Pfizer vaccine results published in peer-reviewed journal
The full results of a clinical trial for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday, a major milestone that came as a committee of the US Food and Drug Administration met to discuss its approval. An editorial related to the scientific paper said: "The trial results are impressive enough to hold up in any conceivable analysis. This is a triumph."
Main tourist area in Himachal's McLeodganj now Covid containment zoneAuthorities in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district have declared the main tourist area in McLeodganj as a COVID-19 containment zone. Dharamshala Sub-Divisional Magistrate Harish Gajju took the decision after 11 cases of the novel coronavirus were found in McLeodganj. He said the area from Main Chowk to Dolma Chowk on Jogiwada Road in McLeodganj has been declared as a containment zone.
"No offices and hotels will be opened in the containment zone nor will any construction work be allowed. The people of the area will not be able to leave their houses at other times except in medical emergencies," the official said.
Coronavirus Live: Spain virus deaths top 45,000 between March and May, says report
More than 45,000 people died of Covid-19 in Spain between March and May, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said, giving a figure that exceeds the official toll by 18,000. Figures released by the INE showed a total of 45,684 deaths within that period, of which 32,652 were certified as dying as a result of the virus, while another 13,032 "of suspected (Covid), showing symptoms compatible with the illness".
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Coronavirus Live: Novel COVID-19 antibody test gives results in 20 minutesScientists have developed a new accurate and reliable test to detect antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, which gives results in less than 20 minutes. The serological assay, described in the journal Scientific Reports. is as accurate as the most reliable antibody tests currently available, but is less complex and can be performed much faster.
The gold standard for serological testing is a complex laboratory method called ELISA that takes four to six hours to run and provides quantitative results indicating the strength of the immune response.
Simpler assays using test strips provide rapid results, but are less reliable and do not quantify antibody levels, the researchers said.
Odisha logs 343 new COVID-19 cases, five more deaths
Odisha's COVID-19 caseload climbed to 3,22,642 after 343 more people tested positive for the infection, while five fresh fatalities pushed the count in the coastal state to 1,794, a senior health department official said. Of the 343 new cases, 197 were reported from various quarantine centres, and the rest detected during contact tracing, he said.
Covid-19 LIVE Updates: Coronavirus scare on cruise ship a false alarm, Singapore says
A passenger who tested positive for COVID-19 aboard a 'cruise-to-nowhere' from Singapore, forcing the ship to return to dock and nearly 1,700 guests to isolate, has been found not to have the virus, Singapore's health ministry said on Thursday.
Passengers on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas vessel were held in their cabins for more than 16 hours on Wednesday after an 83-year old man, who sought medical help on the ship for diarrhoea, tested positive for COVID-19.
When the ship returned to port on Wednesday, the passenger was taken to hospital where he took two further tests which did not reveal infection. A third negative test on Thursday led authorities to declare him virus free.
"A final confirmatory test ... has confirmed that the 83 year-old male Singaporean...does not have COVID-19 infection," the health ministry said in a statement, adding it would help review testing processes aboard the ship.
All guests and crew that had come into close contact with the patient would no longer have to quarantine as previously instructed, the ministry said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Japan To Buy 10,500 Freezers For Coronavirus Vaccines
Japan will buy 10,500 deep freezers to store novel coronavirus vaccines and is considering purchasing dry ice in bulk as it prepares to protect its population from the virus, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.
Japan has agreements to buy a total of 290 million doses of the vaccines from Pfizer Inc, AstraZeneca Plc and Moderna Inc, or enough for 145 million people if everyone gets two shots as required.
Pfizer's vaccines need to be kept at around minus 75 Celsius (minus 103 Fahrenheit, and Moderna's at about minus 20C, posing logistics problems.
Coronavirus Latest News LIVE: India, Nepal decide to resume flight services under air bubble arrangement
India and Nepal have decided to resume flight services between the two countries under an air bubble arrangement, sources said on Thursday.
Initially, the service will start with one flight daily from each side between Delhi and Kathmandu, they said.
"We had proposed to Nepal some time back and Nepal has cleared it now," said a source.
The sources said Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, during his recent visit to Nepal, had highlighted the importance of people-to-people connectivity in sync with the special relationship between the two countries.
The sources said the service will be started with Indians and Nepalese nationals and all those having valid Indian visa except tourist visa.
People having Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards will also be allowed to travel.
Coronavirus Latest News LIVE: India's cumulative COVID-19 tests cross 15-crore mark
India's tally of cumulative COVID-19 testing has crossed 15 crores, out of which past one crore tests were added in just 10 days, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.
According to an official statement by the Union Health Ministry, 9,22,959 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, which has increased India'' total cumulative tests to 15,07,59,726.
"The past one crore tests were added in just 10 days. Comprehensive and widespread testing on a sustained basis has resulted in bringing down the positivity rate," the Health Ministry said.
The ministry said India has reported less than 40,000 new daily cases for 11 continuous days. In the last 24 hours, only 31,521 persons were found to be COVID positive in the country.
Coronavirus LIVE News: Puducherry logs 24 new COVID-19 cases, two deaths take toll to 617
Puducherry logged 24 fresh COVID-19 cases while two more people succumbed to the infection pushing the toll in the union territory to 617, a top Health department official said on Thursday.
The two deceased were from the Puducherry region, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release.
The two did not have any comorbidities, he said, adding one of them aged 45 years died of septic shock and refractory hypoxemia while the other (aged 72) succumbed to Covid pneumonia and ARDS.
Mohan Kumar said the Health department examined 1,570 samples during the last 24 hours and found 24 to be positive for coronavirus.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Indian scientists identify new potential drug treatments for COVID-19
Indian scientists have identified drugs and possible cocktails that can target vital proteins of the novel coronavirus, and may potentially help treat COVID-19.
Using a virtual screening of the DrugBank database, the research published in the journal Scientific Reports, identified a variety of as yet unexplored ways to attack SARS-CoV-2, even as it mutates.
The Drugbank database is a chemical space of compounds approved by FDA and molecules under drug trials.
The researchers from Alagappa University in Tamil Nadu and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden propose a list of individual drugs and cocktails that deserve testing for the treatment of COVID-19.
A key part of the study, the researchers said, is the identification of drugs that target or bind to multiple proteins that are essential for replication of the virus, and which are also involved in the initial stage of host-cell infection.
Coronavirus Latest News LIVE: Arunachal Logs 24 New COVID-19 Cases, Tally 16,641 Now
Twenty four more people, including one Army man, tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, pushing the tally to 16,461, a senior
health official said here on Thursday.
Of the 24 new cases, 15 were reported from Changlang, five from the Capital Complex region and two each from East Siang and West Kameng, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.
Two infections were detected through True Nat tests and the remaining 22 via rapid antigen tests, he said.
At least 17 of the newly infected people are symptomatic and have been shifted to COVID Care Centres.
Seven people were discharged from hospitals on Wednesday, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 15,697, the official said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Telangana records 643 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths
A total of 643 new COVID-19 cases, and 02 deaths have been reported in Telangana.
The state Health Department said the state''s coronavirus count has increased to 2,75,904 which includes 2,66,925 discharges. The active cases in the state currently stand at 7,497.
As many as 1,482 deaths have been reported in Telangana till Wednesday. Meanwhile, Telangana''s recovery rate stands at 96.74 per cent and case fatality rate stands at 0.53 per cent.
With 31,522 new COVID-19 infections reported in the last 24 hours, India''s total cases have risen to 97,67,372, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.
US Experts Debate Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine In Live EventBritain and Canada have already approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine -- will the United States be next?
Two dozen independent experts convened by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will spend Thursday debating the issue during a livestreamed public event, an exercise in transparency unmatched by any other regulatory agency.
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Covid-19 LIVE Updates: Indonesia places risky bet on Chinese coronavirus vaccinesIndonesia is betting that China-made coronavirus vaccines can help it tackle one of the worst outbreaks in Asia, but analysts warn it is a wager that could leave them holding a high-interest diplomatic IOU.
Beijing has promised poorer nations priority access to its inoculations, in an attempt to repair an image tarnished by the pandemic, which started in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
This week, Indonesia received 1.2 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine made by China's Sinovac, with another 1.8 million set to arrive next month, but experts say this access could have strings attached.
"China's 'vaccine diplomacy' is not unconditional," Ardhitya Eduard Yeremia and Klaus Heinrich Raditio said in a paper published this month by the Singapore-based Yusof Ishak Institute.
Apollo Says Ready To Vaccinate 1 Million Daily, Needs Government ClarityIndia'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.
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. 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, who said the company's talks with officials in New Delhi had yet to provide any firm guidance.
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Coronavirus LIVE News: Jharkhand reports 191 new COVID-19 cases, three more deathsJharkhand's COVID-19 tally mounted to 1,10,830 as 191 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Thursday.
The death toll rose to 991 after three more patients succumbed to the disease, he said.
Two new fatalities were reported from Ranchi and one from Dhanbad, the official said.
Ranchi district registered the maximum number of fresh cases at 97, followed by Dhanbad at 16 and Bokaro at 14.
Jharkhand now has 1,739 active coronavirus cases, while 1,08,100 people have been cured of the disease so far, the official said.
JustIn| 31,521 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, marginally lower than yesterday; 97.67 lakh total cases, 1,41,772 deaths
Coronavirus Latest News LIVE: 562 new COVID-19 cases in Thane; 12 more deaths
The COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra's Thane district has gone up to 2,34,347 with the addition of 562 new cases, an official said on Thursday.
Twelve more deaths due to coronavirus have also been reported in the district, taking the toll to 5,778, he said.
Currently, there are 6,670 active COVID-19 cases in the district, while 2,21,899 patients have recovered.
The COVID-19 recovery rate in the district is 94.69 per cent, while the mortality rate stands at 2.85 per cent.
The active cases constitute 2.85 per cent of the total cases reported so far in the district, the official said.
Out of the total COVID-19 cases in the district, Kalyan town has so far reported 55,244, followed by Thane city-53,001, Navi Mumbai-49,289 and Mira Bhayander-24,648.
Covid-19 LIVE Updates: UK Issues Anaphylaxis Warning On Pfizer Vaccine After Adverse ReactionsBritain's medicine regulator said anyone with a history of anaphylaxis to a medicine or food should not get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, giving fuller guidance on an earlier allergy warning about the shot.
Starting with the elderly and frontline workers, Britain began mass vaccinating its population on
Tuesday, part of a global drive that poses one of the biggest logistical challenges in peacetime history.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there had been two reports of anaphylaxis and one report of a possible allergic reaction since rollout began.
"Any person with a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food should not receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine," MHRA Chief Executive June Raine said in a statement.
Coronavirus Latest News LIVE: US Covid Deaths Exceed 3,000 In 24 Hours: Johns Hopkins
The United States on Wednesday registered more than 3,000 deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally -- the highest daily toll since April.
American authorities warned a spike in deaths was coming after millions traveled around the country for the Thanksgiving holiday last month, ignoring pleas to stay home to slow the spread of the virus.
As of 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Thursday), the country had recorded a total of 289,188 Covid deaths, up by 3,071 in 24 hours. It also registered nearly 220,481 new cases.
California, where some 33 million people were back under lockdown this week, saw more than 30,000 cases on Wednesday -- the highest 24-hour tally in a US state, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
The number of virus patients hospitalized in the US continues to break records, hitting 106,000 on Wednesday.