India Coronavirus Cases: Number of new cases reported was 0.4% lower than yesterday's (Representational)
India recorded 44,684 fresh coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking its COVID-19 tally till now to 87.73 lakh, government data released this morning shows.
The number of new Covid cases reported was 0.4% lower than yesterday's.
In this period, some 520 people died fighting the novel coronavirus disease, which has so far claimed 1,29,188 lives in India.
Total active cases dropped to 4.8 lakh as number of recoveries remained higher than new infections, although with a margin that seems to be becoming leaner.
Total recoveries stood at more than 81.6 lakh as almost 48,000 patients fought off the viral disease in the last 24 hours.
Here are the LIVE updates on Coronavirus Cases:
565 new COVID-19 cases take J&K count to 1,02,159
The COVID-19 death toll in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 1,580 with six more fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours, while 565 new cases pushed the infection tally 1,02,159, officials said.
Of the fresh cases, 259 were from Jammu division and 306 from Kashmir valley, they said.
1,012 new coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh, seven deaths
Madhya Pradesh's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,83,057 after 1,012 new infections were reported on Saturday, while seven fatalities pushed the death count to 3,083, a health official said.
On the other hand, 876 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the state's recovery count to 1,70,969, he added.
Maharashtra adds 4,237 new COVID-19 cases
Maharashtra reported 4,237 new COVID-19 cases, taking its count of infections to 17,44,698, the state health department said.
With 105 more patients succumbing to the infection, the count rose to 45,914, it said, adding that the case recovery rate in the state now stands at 92.41 per cent while the case fatality rate is 2.63 per cent.
Andhra Pradesh records 1,657 new COVID-19 cases, 2,155 recoveries
The number of active coronavirus cases fell below the 20,000 mark even as the infection count mounted to 8,52,955 in Andhra Pradesh with the addition of 1,657 new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours ending 9 am.
During the period, the state saw 2,155 recoveries and seven deaths.
Kerala logs 6,357 new COVID-19 cases, 6,793 recoveries
Kerala reported 6,357 new COVID-19 cases, taking the caseload to over 5.20 lakh as the count climbed to 1,848 with 26 more fatalities, Health minister KK Shailaja said.
As many as 6,793 people have been cured of the disease, taking the total recoveries to 4,41,523, the minister said.
2,361 new COVID cases in UP, 29 deaths
The coronavirus case count in Uttar Pradesh rose to 7,354 with 29 more deaths, while 2,361 new cases took the tally to 5.10 lakh, an official said.
There are 23,367 active cases, including 10,352 in home isolation, and 4.79 lakh people have recuperated so far, taking the recovery rate to over 93 per cent, Principal Secretary (Health) Alok Kumar said.
BJP MP Narhari Amin tests positive for coronavirus
BJP's Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat, Narhari Amin, tweeted that he has tested positive for coronavirus.
Mr Amin said he was admitted to a hospital in Ahmedabad on the advice of doctors.
"When I felt initial symptoms of coronavirus, I got myself tested, and the report came positive. My health is fine but I have been admitted to UN Mehta Hospital on the advice of doctors. I request that all those who have come in contact with me in the last few days, please isolate yourself and get yourself examined," he tweeted.
Greece tightens COVID-19 lockdown, shuts primary schools
Greek authorities announced on Saturday the closure of nurseries and primary schools until the end of November, tightening a nationwide lockdown after a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Greece has fared better than many other European countries in tackling the coronavirus, mainly due to an early nationwide lockdown imposed weeks after the pandemic broke out in February.
A gradual increase in infections since early October has forced authorities to reimpose restrictions and order a second nationwide lockdown, which expires at the end of November and includes a night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am.
Japan hits record coronavirus cases for third straight day
Japan's daily coronavirus infection tally rose to record 1,731 on Saturday, hitting a new high for a third straight day, public broadcaster NHK said.
Tokyo on Saturday confirmed 352 infections of the new coronavirus, exceeding 300 for a fourth straight day, data from the Metropolitan Government showed.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Friday the nation did not need another state of emergency to tackle the pandemic, even though it was seeing record numbers of new daily cases as the weather turns cold.
Malaysia reports 1,114 new coronavirus cases with two new deaths
Malaysia reported 1,114 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, raising the total to 46,209 infections.
The health ministry also recorded two new deaths, taking the total number of fatalities from the pandemic to 306.
More than 1.3 million coronavirus deaths worldwide: Report
More than 1.3 million people have been killed by the novel coronavirus worldwide, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.
In total, there have been at least 1,303,783 deaths for 53,380,442 declared cases of Covid-19, although experts say the official data is likely to capture only a fraction of the number of total infections and fatalities.
New cases and deaths are accelerating again as a second wave of infections strikes Europe and the United States.
Czech Republic reports 7,357 new coronavirus cases, deaths rise by 171
The Czech Republic reported 7,357 new coronavirus cases for Nov. 13 as daily infections continued to hold below recent peaks after weeks of tightened measures to combat the spread, Health Ministry data showed on Saturday.
The country of 10.7 million has faced one of Europe's highest infection rates of COVID-19. Hospitals have been under heavy strain.
The ministry on Saturday reported 171 new deaths, including 104 on Friday and revisions to previous days, to bring the total to 5,926 - a 25% increase in the last week and a tenfold rise since Sept. 25.
Russia reports record daily increase in new coronavirus cases
Russia reported on Saturday a record daily increase of 22,702 new coronavirus infections, taking the national tally to 1,903,253. Authorities also reported 391 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the official death count to 32,834.
Telangana reports 1,050 new cases of COVID-19
Telangana reported 1,050 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, taking the total number of cases to 2,56,713 in the state.
According to Telangana Health Department, 1,736 recoveries and four deaths were reported in the state on Friday.
The state Health Department said the total count of coronavirus cases in the state has increased to 2,56,713 including 2,38,908 discharges, 1,401 deaths and active cases 16,404
The case fatality rate currently stands at 0.54 per cent in the state, while the recovery rate stands at 93.06 per cent.
A total of 13,867 people are in-home or institutional isolation in the state.
Odisha's COVID-19 toll crosses 1,500-mark, 902 new cases foundOdisha's COVID-19 death count crossed the 1,500-mark on Saturday with 15 more people losing
their lives, while 902 new cases pushed the tally to 3,07,906, a Health Department official said.
Five people died in Sundergarh, four persons in Khurda and two in Mayurbhanj. One patient each succumbed to COVID-19 in Balasore, Jagatsinghpur, Kandhamal and Puri, he said.
The state's death count rose to 1,510 with the latest fatalities.
Khurda district, of which Bhubaneswar is a part, have so far reported 263 deaths, followed by Ganjam (232) and Cuttack (124), the official said.
This apart, 53 other COVID-19 patients have also died in the state due to comorbidities.
Andamans COVID-19 tally rises to 4,518The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 4,518 as 11 more people tested
positive for the infection, a health department official said on Saturday.
Of the 11 new cases, six have travel history, while five were detected during contact tracing, the official said.
The Union territory has 153 active COVID-19 cases while 4,304 have recovered from the disease, he said.
The archipelago has so far reported 61 COVID-19 deaths.
The Andaman and Nicobar administration has so far sent 1,04,786 samples for COVID-19 tests, of which 1,04,673 reports have been received, he added.
New coronavirus cases drop sharply in France's second week of lockdown
New coronavirus infections and hospital admissions for COVID-19 dropped sharply at the end of the second week of a new nationwide confinement in France, health ministry data showed on Friday.The ministry reported 23,794 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, down from 33,172 on Thursday and compared to 60,486 last Friday.
The number of people going into hospital with the virus plunged to 24 from 737 on Thursday and the number of people going into intensive care dropped to just four from 96 on Thursday and more than 100 per day every weekday last week.
The number of coronavirus deaths in hospitals increased slightly to 456 from 425 on Thursday.
France also reported 476 deaths in retirement homes over the past three days, for a total of 932 deaths reported on Friday.
Trust in vaccines vital to halting pandemic: WHO
As the world celebrates advances in vaccines against the novel coronavirus, a top WHO expert warned in an interview with AFP that public distrust risked rendering even the most effective treatments useless against the pandemic.
"A vaccine that sits in a freezer or in a refrigerator or on a shelf and doesn't get used is doing nothing to help shorten this pandemic," said Kate O'Brien, director of the World Health Organization's immunisation department.
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced Monday that their prospective vaccine had proven 90 percent effective in preventing Covid-19 infections in ongoing final phase trials involving more than 40,000 people.
O'Brien hailed the interim results as "extremely important", and voiced hope that preliminary data from a handful of other candidate vaccines in similarly advanced trials would come through soon.
If the complete data show that "one or more of these vaccines has very, very substantial efficacy, that is really good news for putting another tool in the toolbox" for fighting the pandemic, she said.
But with the pandemic continuing to surge after already claiming some 1.3 million lives, she voiced deep concern at growing signs of vaccine hesitancy, with misinformation and mistrust colouring people's acceptance of scientific advances.
"We are not going to be successful as a world in controlling the pandemic with the use of vaccines as one of the tools unless people are willing to get vaccinated," O'Brien said.
More needed to be done to boost public "confidence in the fact that the vaccines that WHO is involved in evaluating, we will not be compromising on safety or efficacy," she said.
South Korea reports 205 coronavirus cases, above 200 for first time since September
South Korea reported 205 new coronavirus cases as of Friday midnight, rising above 200 for the first time since September, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Saturday.
Of the new cases, 166 were domestically transmitted and 39 imported.
More than 65% of the locally transmitted cases were from Seoul and Gyeonggi province, a densely populated region near the capital Seoul.
New York fights virus resurgence as Trump touts vaccine breakthroughNew York battled to fend off a second wave of coronavirus infections with new restrictions on bars and restaurants Friday, as Donald Trump said the first Americans would start receiving a vaccine in "a matter of weeks."
In his first public address since being declared the loser of the November 3 election, the US president touted medical breakthroughs that happened under his watch but said he remained firmly against new lockdowns.
He predicted a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which the companies have said is 90 percent effective in trials so far, would receive emergency approval "extremely soon."
"The vaccine will be distributed to frontline workers, the elderly, and high-risk Americans immediately, it will be a matter of weeks," Trump told reporters at the White House, adding it would be available to the "entire general population" as soon as April.
Cases are surging throughout America and Europe, with governments forced to take more drastic action despite fears about the devastation inflicted on their economies.
India To Get 100 Million Oxford Vaccine Shots By December: Adar PoonawallaThe world's largest vaccine maker is ramping up production of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 shot, aiming to have 100 million doses ready by December for an inoculation drive that could begin across India that same month.
If final-stage trial data show AstraZeneca's candidate gives effective protection from the virus, the Serum Institute of India -- which is partnered to produce at least one billion doses -- may get emergency authorization from New Delhi by December, said Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer of the family-owned firm based in Pune.
That initial amount will go to India, Poonawalla said in an interview on Thursday. Full approval early next year will allow distribution on a 50-50 basis with the South Asian nation and Covax, the World Health Organization-backed body that's purchasing shots for poor nations.
Serum, which has tied up with five developers, has so far made 40 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine in the past two months and aims to start manufacturing Novavax's contender soon.
"We were a bit concerned it was a big risk," said 39-year-old Poonawalla. But both AstraZeneca and Novavax's shots "are looking pretty good."