Coronavirus Cases in India: The recovery rate is 95.75 per cent.
India's active coronavirus cases continued to decline with 23,067 fresh COVID-19 infections recorded in the past day with 336 deaths. The country's cumulative Covid case count now stands at 1.01 crore with 1,47,096 deaths. The daily infections were 6.6 per cent lower than yesterday's. With an average of 20,000 cases a day, it took India - world's only other country after US with more than a crore Covid cases. In this period, however, the country has consistently logged more recoveries than new cases taking the number of those being treated for COVID-19 down to 2.81 lakh - almost 3 per cent of the tally.
Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that the Indian vaccine against COVID-19, Covaxin, has drawn global attention.
In a tweet, the ICMR said, "India's indigenous vaccine against #COVID19 Covaxin-a product of ICMR-Bharat Biotech collaboration, achieves remarkable feat. Data generated from within India underlines impressive safety and immunogenicity profile of Covaxin and sparks Lancet's interest in publishing them."
Here are the live updates on Coronavirus Cases:
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Assam reports 74 new COVID-19 cases, 2 fresh fatalities
Assam's COVID-19 tally rose to 2,15,910 on Saturday as 74 more people tested positive for the
infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death count to 1,035, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Israel announces third nationwide virus lockdown
Israel announced Thursday that it will impose a nationwide lockdown from next week, its third of the Covid-19 pandemic, just days after it began vaccinations against the virus.
"A general lockdown will be imposed from 17:00 (1500 GMT) on Sunday for two weeks," a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Turkey registers 15,118 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily rise since mid-November
Turkey's health ministry has registered 15,118 new positive tests for COVID-19 on Saturday, the lowest single-day increase since mid-November.
The latest increase to the case total is a significant decrease from the 17,543 new positive tests registered on Friday and continues a downward trend in new infections after a record 33,198 new cases were confirmed on December 8, ANI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Two more UK returnees test COVID-19 positive in TelanganaTwo more persons who returned to Telangana from the United Kingdom tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing to check whether it is a new strain detected in the UK, a health official said.
With this, the total number of UK returnees who have tested positive for the disease in the state has risen to 18, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Germany starts coronavirus vaccines a day early
A 101-year-old woman in an elderly care home became the first person in Germany to be inoculated against coronavirus on Saturday, a day before the official vaccination campaign was scheduled to get under way in both Germany and the EU.
Edith Kwoizalla was one of around 40 residents and 10 staff in a care home in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt to receive a jab of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the home's manager Tobias Krueger told AFP.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Nashik COVID-19 tally nears 1.09 lakh, count close to 2,000
The COVID-19 count in Nashik in Maharashtra reached 1,08,912 on Saturday while the count climbed to 1,945, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 2 More UK-Returned Persons Test Positive For COVID-19 In Delhi; Total 21Two more persons who recently returned to Delhi from the UK, where a super-spreader strain of the coronavirus has been reported, were found to be COVID positive during a door-to-door contact-tracing and testing exercise, officials said on Saturday.
With this, the number of people testing positive for the disease after returning from the UK has gone up to 21 in the national capital. All of them returned from the UK after November 25, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Moscow's death count from COVID-19 rises by 77 over past day to 10,840
Moscow has registered 77 deaths of patients infected with COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the Russian capital's death count to 10,840, the city's coronavirus response center said in a statement on Friday.
"Another 77 patients, who were diagnosed with pneumonia and tested positive for the coronavirus infection, died in Moscow," the center said.
In the previous day, 74 people infected with the coronavirus died in Moscow, ANI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 970 passengers arrive at Mumbai international airport, 489 quarantined
As many as 970 passengers landed at the Mumbai international airport from different parts of
the world including Europe and the Middle-East on Friday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. Of them, 489 were quarantined in the city, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 4-year-old Odisha girl tests COVID-19 positive after returning from UK
A four-year-old girl, who had returned from the United Kingdom along with her parents, tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday in Bhubaneswar, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Ex-Himachal Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, family members test positive for virusFormer Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar and five of his family members tested positive for coronavirus on Friday.
In a Facebook post, the chief minister expressed concern over it and wished the former CM and his family members speedy recovery, PTI reported.
Tamil Nadu reports 1,027 fresh COVID-19 casesTamil Nadu on Friday logged 1,027 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 8,12,142 while the
death count mounted to 12,048 with 12 more fatalities.
Of the fresh cases, Chennai reported 289, nearby Chengalpattu andKancheepuram 74 and 38 respectively and the remainder was scatteredacross Tamil Nadu, a health department bulletin said.
Barring one person, all the other 11 victims had co-morbidities.
Four ofthose who died were in their fifties and the others were between 64 and 85 years of age.
7 coronavirus deaths, 1,023 fresh cases in RajasthanThe Rajasthan health authorities on Friday reported seven coronavirus deaths as 1,023 fresh cases surfaced, taking the number of infections in the state to 3,03,732.
So far, 2,657 people have died from the infection in the state.
According to an official report, deaths were reported from Ajmer, Bundi, Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Jodhpur, Sawaimadhopur and Udaipur while the maximum fresh cases (168) were reported from Jaipur.
A total of 2,89,375 patients have recovered from the disease so far and the number of active cases is 11,700 in the state.
Surat sees 153 COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths; 146 recoverSurat district in Gujarat recorded 153 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, while two patients
died and 146 people recovered during the day, an official said on Friday.
He said the district's caseload was 48,324, including 1,129 deaths.
"Surat city accounted for 122 of the new cases and 121 of the 146 who were discharged," he said
Gujarat records 910 new coronavirus cases, six deathsAs many as 910 new cases of coronavirus infection were detected in Gujarat in the last
24 hours, taking the caseload to 2,40,105, the state health department said on Friday evening.
Six patients with viral infection died during this period, taking the death count to 4,268, it said in a release.
On the other hand, 1,114 patients recovered during the day.
With 56,970 tests in the last 24 hours, the total number of tests conducted in the state went up to 93,30,491.
Gujarat COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 2,40,105, new cases 910, death toll 4,268, discharged 2,25,206, active cases 10,631, people tested so far 93,30,491.
Four more UK returnees test positive for COVID-19Four more returnees to Tamil Nadu from UK have tested positive for coronavirus and their samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune for genomic analysis, a senior official said on Friday.
Of the four returnees, two belonged to Thanjavur and one each from here and Madurai,Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said.
Along with these four, the total number of people to test positive for the pathogen on arrival from the UK, has increased to five.
The samples of these returnees have been dispatched to the NIV for genomic analysis, he said.
The four arrived in Tamil Nadu between November 28 and December 17 were traced and tested and all the five returnees are doing well in various facilities, he said, adding their contacts have tested negative.
Goa sees 80 COVID-19 cases on Friday, 101 recoverGoa's coronavirus caseload went up by 80 and reached 50,534 on Friday, while 101 people got
discharged, taking the state's recovery count to 48,826, an official said.
The number of people who have died due to the infection is 728, leaving the state with 980 active cases, he added.
With 1,669 more tests conducted in the state in the last 24 hours, the number of samples examined so far rose to 3,89,879.
Goa's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 50,534, new cases 80, death toll 728, discharged 48,826, active cases 980, samples tested till date 3,89,879.
Haryana records 4 more COVID-19 deaths, 408 new casesThe COVID-19 death count in Haryana rose to 2,858 on Friday with four more fatalities, while 408 new cases pushed the infection tally to 2,60,153, a medical bulletin issued here said.
A fatality each was reported from Faridabad, Yamunanagar, Bhiwani and Jind districts, it said.
Among other districts to report new cases include Gurgaon (81) and Faridabad (61).
The number of active cases in the state currently stands at 4,750 while the recovery rate is 97.08 per cent.
1,005 new COVID-19 cases, 5 deaths in KarnatakaKarnataka added 1,005 new COVID- 19 cases and five related fatalities, taking the infection
count to 9,14,488 and the toll to 12,044, the health department said on Friday.
The day also saw 1,102 patients getting discharged after recovery and there were 13,508 active cases in the state.
The state's cumulative COVID-19 tally stood at 9,14,488, including 12,044 deaths and 8,88,917 discharges, the department said in its bulletin.
A total of 13,300 patients were stable in isolation at designated hospitals, while 208 are in Intensive Care Units.
As many as 578 fresh cases were from Bengaluru Urban district, which also accounted for four of the five deaths, followed by Dharwad 1.
Chandigarh records 36 new COVID-19 cases; tally 19,345Chandigarh recorded 36 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the infection count to 19,345, a medical bulletin issued said.
There are 345 active cases currently, it said.
No death was reported on Friday. The death count stands at 314.
A total of 52 patients were discharged after they recovered from the infection, taking the overall recoveries to 18,686, the bulletin said.
A total of 1,74,395 samples have been taken for testing so far and of them, 1,54,176 have tested negative while reports of 97 samples are awaited, as per bulletin.
596 new coronavirus cases recorded in Mumbai, 11 deathsThe COVID-19 caseload in Mumbai rose to 2,89,800 on Friday with 596 new cases coming to light while the death count reached 11,056 with 11 fresh fatalities, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
The day before the city had reported 643 new COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths.
The number of recovered patients increased to 2,69,671, about 93 per cent of the tally, with 377 more patients being discharged from hospitals in the city.
The average doubling rate of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai is 358 days, while the average growth rate of cases is 0.21 per cent.
Currently, the city has 8,219 active COVID-19 cases.
The total of tests conducted in the city went up to 22,80,668 with 15,033 tests conducted since Thursday evening, the BMC data showed.
468 more test COVID-19 positive in Uttarakhand; tally 88,844The COVID-19 death count in Uttarakhand rose to 1,463 on Friday with five more fatalities, while 468 new cases pushed the infection tally to 88,844, a state health department bulletin issued here said.
Dehradun district reported the highest 160 cases, followed by Nainital with 110 cases, Pithoragarh 52, Haridwar 26, Uttarkashi 24, Tehri 23, Udham Singh Nagar 23, Pauri 21, Rudraprayag 12, Chamoli 10, Bageshwar five and Almora two, it said.
Five more COVID-19 patients died taking the count so far to 1,463, the bulletin said.
A total of 80,738 infected people have recuperated, 1,133 have migrated out of the state and 5,510 are under treatment, it said.
First case of new Covid-19 strain detected in Lebanon
The Lebanese health authorities have recorded the first case of a new Covid-19 strain in an individual who arrived from the United Kingdom this week, Minister of Public Health Hamad Hassan said on Friday.
"The first case of a new coronavirus type was registered in a passenger of Flight ME [Middle East Airlines] 202, who arrived from London on December 21," Mr Hassan wrote on Twitter.
The minister appealed to the flight's passengers with a request to abide by all necessary health precautions and immediately contact a medical center if any symptoms of the disease appear for the sake of their own health and that of others.
Mr Hassan announced on Monday the ministry''s intention to introduce additional measures in regard to those citizens entering Lebanon from the UK or having a transit flight via the UK to the Middle Eastern country.
Madhya Pradesh records 1,031 new COVID-19 cases, 12 deaths; 1,234 recoverMadhya Pradesh on Friday reported 1,031 COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 2,36,400, while 12
fatalities took the death toll to 3,536, a health official said.
As many as 1,234 people were discharged during the day, taking the recovery count in the state to 2,22,403.
"Of the 12 deaths, four took place in Indore, two each in Bhopal and Gwalior and one each in Damoh, Khandwa, Harda and Guna," the official said.
"Of new cases, Indore accounted for 312 and Bhopal 203. Indore has so far recorded 53,323 cases, including 855 deaths, while Bhopal's tally is 38,195 with 565 fatalities.
Indore has 3,752 active cases, while this figure for Bhopal is 2,055," he said.
COVID: 9 deaths, 320 new cases in PunjabCoronavirus claimed nine more lives in Punjab on Friday as 320 fresh cases pushed the state's infection tally to 1,64,821 on Friday, a medical bulletin said.
So far, 5,269 people have died from the infection in the state, it said.
Mohali reported 48 new cases, followed by Ludhiana (43) and Patiala (40). The state currently has 4,707 active cases, according to the medical bulletin.
Thirteen critical patients are on ventilator while 82 are on oxygen support, the bulletin said.
A total of 37,86,885 samples have been collected for testing so far in the state, it said.
Coronavirus: No New Cases In Mumbai's Dharavi For First Time Since COVID-19 OutbreakNot a single COVID-19 case has been reported in Mumbai's Dharavi, Asia's largest slum, for the first time since the pandemic reached India earlier this year. Healthcare workers and researchers have been paying undivided attention to the situation in Dharavi as the hundreds of shanties stand wall-to-wall, and where people mostly use community toilets since social distancing is a luxury in one of the most densely populated slums in the world.
Ladakh records 32 new coronavirus cases; 22 more recoverThe Union Territory of Ladakh recorded 32 new coronavirus cases, taking the infection count to 9,341, while the death count reached 126 with one more fatality, officials said on Friday.
All the positive cases were received from Leh district, they added.
The fresh death was also reported from Leh, the officials said.
Of the total 126 fatalities, 83 have taken place in Leh and 43 in Kargil district, they said.
Twenty-two patients recovered from the infection after successful treatment, bringing down the number of active cases in the region to 215 -- 195 in Leh district and 20 in Kargil district, the officials said.
Of the 22 recovered cases, one patient was discharged in Kargil and 21 in Leh.
With this, the number of recovered cases had gone up to 8,969, which is 96 percent of the total cases registered in the Union Territory since the outbreak of the pandemic in March, they said.
3,431 new coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, 71 deathsMaharashtra reported 3,431 new coronavirus infections on Friday, taking the tally of cases to 19,13,382, a health department official said.
The death count rose to 49,129 with 71 new fatalities.
With 1,427 patients discharged from hospitals during the day, the number of recovered patients increased to 18,06,298.
Maharashtra's COVID-19 recovery rate is 94.4 per cent, while the fatality rate is 2.57 per cent, the official said.
The positivity rate -- proportion of positive cases in the samples tested so far -- is 15.43 per cent.
Currently 4,77,528 people are in home quarantine and 3,695 people are in institutional quarantine across the state. The number of active cases is 56,823.
758 fresh cases of COVID-19 reported in Delhi, lowest since August 16; death count 10,414 with 30 new fatalities: Authorities.
Jammu and Kashmir registers 284 COVID-19 infections, one more deathJammu and Kashmir's COVID-19 tally surged to 1,19,628 on Friday with 284 fresh COVID-19 cases, while the death count climbed to 1,861 as one more person died due to the disease, officials said.
Of the fresh cases, 140 were from the Kashmir division and 144 from the Jammu division, they said.
Jammu district recorded the highest number of new cases at 96, followed by 65 in Srinagar.
The number of active cases in the union territory stands at 3,414, while 1,14,353 patients have recovered so far, the officials said.
The latest fatality in the union territory was reported from Kashmir, they said.
Punjab's Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar chosen for COVID-19 vaccine dry run
Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts have been chosen for COVID vaccine dry run to be held from January 27 to 29 in Punjab and it will be done using a dummy vaccine, said an official on Friday.
The dry run is aimed at testing the laid out mechanisms for COVID-19 vaccination roll-out in the health system.
"Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar have been chosen for COVID-19 vaccine dry run to be held from January 27 to 29. It will be done using a dummy vaccine. We have 805 service locations for vaccination," Varinder Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana told ANI.
The official said that 65 cold storage points have been developed in Ludhiana and the "vaccination drive will be held in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines issued by the authorities".
22 new cases take Mizoram's COVID-19 tally to 4,178Mizoram's COVID-19 tally rose to 4,178 on Friday as 22 more people, including eight security
personnel, tested positive for the infection, a health department official said.
Of the fresh cases, 14 were reported from Aizawl, six from Lunglei and two from Hnahthial, he said.
Thirteen new patients have travel history, while eight were detected during contact tracing and it is yet to be ascertained how the remaining one person contracted the disease.
"Eight security personnel and five children are among the new patients," the official said.
Mizoram now has 146 active cases, while 4,024 people have already recovered from the disease and eight died.
The state has so far tested 1,75,756 samples for COVID-19, including 1,014 on Thursday.
One in 85 test positive for coronavirus in England as cases spikeA record number of people have tested positive for COVID-19 in England as millions spend Christmas Day away from friends and family due to a continuing spike in coronavirus infections on Friday.
Figures from the National Health Service's (NHS) Test and Trace network show that between December 10 and 16, 173,875 people received a positive result - the highest weekly total of positive cases and a 58 per cent increase on the previous week.
Separately, according to the the Office for National Statistics (ONS), positive cases of coronavirus are increasing sharply in parts of the UK, with around one in 60 people now testing positive in Wales and one in 85 in England. Experts believe the new mutations of the deadly virus are driving cases up across the country as they are more contagious. It has resulted in most parts of the UK to be placed in some form of stringent lockdown measures, with London and surrounding areas in Tier 4 level of highest alert with a near-complete shutdown.
Bharat Biotech bosses discuss Covaxin status with Vice-President
Bharat Biotech Chairman and Managing Director Dr Krishna Ella and Joint Managing Director Suchitra Ella called on Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu at his residence on Friday in Hyderabad.
They discussed the status of the indigenous vaccine, being developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology, and the plans to make it available in India and the rest of the world. This indigenous, inactivated vaccine is being developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech''s Bio-safety Level 3 bio-containment facility.
During the interaction, the Vice-President lauded the collaboration between the ICMR and Bharat Biotech and stressed the importance of public-private partnership in bringing out the indigenous "world-class product".
Recently, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi visited Bharat Biotech and reviewed the status of the vaccine candidate, Covaxin. It was followed by a visit from 70 ambassadors and high commissioners from several nations at Genome Valley Bharat Biotech facility in Hyderabad.
10 UK returnees test COVID-19 positive in Karnataka: MinisterKarnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Friday said so far 10 people who have come to the
state from the UK have tested positive for COVID-19 and their samples have been sent for genetic sequencing to find out whether it is a new strain of virus that has infected them.
"Among the UK returnees according to information I have about 10 people have tested positive, all their samples have been sent to NIMHANS, two to three days are required for genetic sequencing, once that (report) is out we will get to know whether it is the second strain, and accordingly we will follow necessary procedures for treatment," he said.
Speaking to reporters, Sudhakar said, things relating to this second strain are still being studied and according to initial studies than the variant found in the UK the one that is of South African origin is intensive.
"Based on the final reports we get, we will take necessary steps. Have trust in the government, before taking any decision we think hundred times. Protecting the health of the people is our main priority," he added.
UK returnee tests COVID-19 positive in AssamA traveller from the UK, who arrived here a few days ago, has tested positive for COVID-19
and the swab samples have been sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune to ascertain whether the patient has contracted a new strain of coronavirus, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
The person returned to the state recently amid concern over the detection of a mutated and more infectious strain of COVID-19 in the European country and has been admitted to Guwahati Medical College Hospital here, he told reporters.
"The samples of the patient have been sent to NIV, Pune to ascertain whether the person has contracted the new strain of COVID-19 or not. We will provide the details only after we get the report," the minister said.
Asked whether the government will enforce fresh lockdown to contain the spread of the disease in the state, Mr Sarma said there is no possibility of taking any such measure as the number of daily cases have come down to less than 100.
UP reports 13 more COVID-19 deaths, 1,285 new casesUttar Pradesh reported 13 more COVID-19 fatalities and 1,285 new cases on Friday, pushing the death toll to 8,279 and the infection tally to 5,79,982 in the state.
Currently, there are 16,159 active cases in the state, and 5,55,544 people have recovered from the disease so far, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters here.
He said the recovery rate in the state stood at 95.78 per cent.
Mr Prasad said over 1.43 lakh samples were tested for the disease on Thursday, and the total number of tests conducted so far was around 2.31 crore.
Of the total active cases, 7,317 are in home-isolation, 1,663 in private hospitals and the rest are undergoing treatment in government hospitals.
Dry run for COVID-19 immunisation drive in 4 states next week
To assess readiness of the mechanism laid out for the COVID-19 inoculation drive, a dry run has been planned by the Centre on December 28 and 29 in four states -- Punjab, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
The exercise will include necessary data entry in Co-WIN, an online platform for monitoring of vaccine delivery, testing receipt and allocation, deployment of team members, mock drill of session sites with test beneficiaries, a well as reporting and evening meeting, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.
It will also include testing of cold storage and transportation arrangements for COVID-19 vaccine, management of crowd at session sites with proper physical distancing, the ministry said.
Each state will plan it in two districts and preferably in five different session-type settings -- district hospital, community health centre (CHC) or primary health care centre (PHC), urban site, private health facility and rural outreach.
Telangana records 518 new Covid-19 casesA total of 518 new COVID-19 cases, 491 discharges and three deaths were reported in Telangana on Thursday, said the State Health Department.
As per the state government, the total count of coronavirus cases in the state has increased to 2,84,074 including 2,75,708 discharges and 1,527 deaths. The active cases currently stand at 6,839.
Telangana's recovery rate stands at 97.05 per cent and the case fatality rate stands at 0.53 per cent.
As many as 44,869 samples were tested on Monday and 4,732 patients are kept under home/institutional isolation.
Vaccines Can Be "Tweaked In Minutes" To Fight New Variants: ExpertsCoronavirus mutations identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa may be provoking alarm, but infectious-disease experts are optimistic the new variants are still vulnerable to the powerful hammer of newly authorized vaccines. Even if the virus were to mutate further, the experts say, the vaccines could be rapidly reprogrammed to remain effective against new variants.
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COVID-19: Recoveries cross 97 lakh, caseload rises to 1,01,46,845
India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,01,46,845 with 23,067 new infections being reported in a day, while recoveries have crossed the 97-lakh mark, according to data updated by the Union Health Ministry on Friday.
The death toll increased to 1,47,092 with 336 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 97,17,834, pushing the national recovery rate to 95.77 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent.
The COVID-19 active caseload in the country remained below three lakh for the fourth consecutive day.
There are 2,81,919 active coronavirus infections in the country which constitutes 2.78 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Punjab to conduct dry run of COVID-19 vaccine on December 28, 29
The Government of India has chosen Punjab to conduct the dry run of COVID-19 vaccine on December 28 and 29, said Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Thursday.
The districts Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar have been selected as the two districts where the dry run for COVID-19 vaccine will be carried out and five sights would be identified in each district, Sidhu said in a press communique.
The dry run is aimed at testing the laid out mechanisms for COVID-19 vaccination roll-out in the health system.
"The dry run will exercise end to end testing of COVID-19 vaccination process and will vaccinate pre-identified beneficiaries from specified groups supported by Co-WIN, an electronic application. The primary objective of the dry run included assessing the operational feasibility of using Co-WIN application in field environment and to test linkages between planning. Implementation and reporting mechanisms would identify challenges and guideway forward prior to actual implementation," Mr Sidhu said.
Coronavirus News Updates: Australia steps up testing to rein in COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney
Australia's New South Wales state has increased COVID-19 testing to rein in a resurgence of coronavirus infections in Sydney, with other states and territories taking similar steps on concerns the outbreak might have spread.
A record of nearly 70,000 tests were conducted on Thursday across New South Wales (NSW), home to about a quarter of Australia's 25-million population, officials said.
NSW recorded on Friday seven new cases of the coronavirus, six linked to an outbreak in the suburbs of Sydney's northern beaches that has kept more than a quarter of million in some sort of lockdown for nearly a week. The cluster now stands at 104.
Rain has kept people away from beaches and at home on Christmas Day, but officials urged social distancing at gatherings, cutting down on Boxing Day shopping and getting tested.
JustIn| 23,067 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, 6.6% lower than yesterday; 1.01 crore total cases, 1,47,092 deaths
New COVID-19 strain: Odisha to keep surveillance on UK returnees
In view of the threat posed by the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus, the Odisha government on Thursday asked district administrations in the state to keep active surveillance on who returned from United Kingdom (UK) in the last 14 days (from December 7) for COVID containment.
As per an official release, Additional Chief Secretary PK Mohapatra has written to MD, NHM (National Health Mission), Odisha, all Collector and district magistrates (DMs), Municipal Commissioners, and all CDM and PHOs.
Sharing the details of the persons returned from the United Kingdom during the last 14 days provided by Delhi Disaster Management Authority, Mohapatra said in his letter, "A mutated strain of SARS-CoV-2 has been reported from the United Kingdom. The strain has been implicated to have higher transmissibility as compared to the earlier strains."
Turkey To Start Using China's COVID-19 Vaccine After Strong Results
Turkey will receive its first shipment of China's Sinovac coronavirus vaccine within days as preliminary domestic tests showed it was 91% effective, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Thursday.
Ankara in the next few days will also sign a deal with Pfizer/BioNTech for 4.5 million doses, with the option to buy 30 million more from the US pharmaceutical giant and its German partner, Koca said.
Turkey will initially receive three million doses of Sinovac and have the option for 50 million more as it begins inoculations next month, starting with healthcare workers and the most vulnerable.
Koca said the first shipments of the Chinese vaccine will be sent to Turkey on Sunday.
Covid-19 LIVE Updates: Indian Vaccine Covaxin Has Drawn Global Attention: Top Medical BodyThe Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that the Indian vaccine against COVID-19, Covaxin, has drawn global attention.
In a tweet, the ICMR said, "India's indigenous vaccine against #COVID19 Covaxin-a product of ICMR-Bharat Biotech collaboration, achieves remarkable feat. Data generated from within India underlines impressive safety and immunogenicity profile of Covaxin and sparks Lancet's interest in publishing them."
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Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Another UK-returned Delhi resident tests positive for COVID-19
A UK-returned man in Dwarka area here has been found positive for COVID-19 and his family has been quarantined while tracing of others who came in contact with him was underway, officials said on Thursday. Earlier, another person who recently arrived from the UK had tested positive in south east Delhi on Wednesday, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 7 out of 1,200 people who returned from UK test COVID-19 positive in Telangana
Seven people out of 1,200 who came from the UK to Telangana since December 9 have tested positive for COVID-19, ANI reported.
Telangana Health Minister Eatala Rajender held a review meeting with senior officials of the department on the steps being taken in the state in the wake of global concerns with the new virus strain. Officials informed the minister that 1,200 air passengers had returned to Telangana from UK and via UK from December 9 till date, and out of them Covid-19 tests were done on 846 persons with seven testing positive for the virus.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 1,206 passengers arrive in Mumbai from Europe, Middle-East
As many as 1,206 passengers landed at the Mumbai international airport from Europe and the Middle- East on Thursday and 788 of them were quarantined in the city, a civic official said.
A total of 14 flights from these two regions landed during the day, said the official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, PTI reported.