Coronavirus Cases in India: The recovery rate is 95.69 per cent.
India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,01,23,778 with 24,712 new infections being reported in a day, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 96.93 lakh, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
The death count increased to 1,46,756 with 312 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 96,93,173 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.69 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent.
The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh for the third consecutive day.
There are 2,83,849 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 2.86 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
Here are the live updates on Coronavirus Cases:
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Odisha makes genome sequencing mandatory for 60 UK returnees
With around 60 people identified to have returned to the state from the United Kingdom in the past fortnight, Odisha government Thursday asked the authorities to undertake intense surveillance, contact tracing, RT-PCR test and genome sequencing of all incoming passengers, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Indian Vaccine Covaxin Has Drawn Global Attention, Says Top Medical Body
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."
The ICMR said, "Encouraging Phase I and Phase II COVAXIN trial results have paved the path for Phase III Clinical Trial in India, which is currently ongoing at 22 sites."
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Morocco orders 65 million vaccine doses
Morocco said Thursday it had ordered 65 million doses of novel coronavirus vaccine, as the North African kingdom prepared to launch a vaccination campaign targeting 25 million people.
"Preparations have reached very advanced stages," Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb said in a statement on the roll-out plans.
"Field exercises covering all stages of the process of vaccinating citizens have been put in place."
A government source confirmed to AFP that Morocco has opted for the Chinese Sinopharm and British AstraZeneca vaccines, which both require two shots.
No date has been given for the arrival of the jabs or for the start of the vaccine rollout, AFP reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 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, AFP reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Dry run for COVID-19 vaccine on Dec 28,29 in two Punjab districts
The Centre has chosen Punjab to conduct a dry run of COVID-19 vaccine on December 28 and 29, state Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said here on Thursday. "The districts of Ludhiana and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar have been selected for the dry run," he said in an official statement. Mr Sidhu said the dry run is aimed at testing the laid out mechanisms for the vaccination roll-out in the health system, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Maharashtra reports 3,580 new COVID-19 cases
Maharashtra reported 3,580 new COVID-19 cases and 89 deaths in the last 24 hours.
The state Health Department said the total count of cases has gone up to 19,09,951 and includes 54,891 active cases and 18,04,871 recoveries. The death count has gone up to 49,058, ANI reported.
New COVID-19 strain: Hyderabad starts "Wear a Mask campaign"
Telangana organised ''Wear a Mask'' campaign in Hyderabad to distribute free masks to the public days after the new strain of coronavirus found in the UK, said G Kishan Reddy Minister of State Home Affairs on Thursday.
"Today in my parliamentary constituency, a Wear a Mask campaign has been started to distribute free masks to the public as a message of making mask compulsory," Mr Reddy said while speaking to ANI.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: New restrictions act as dampener for Christmas festivities in Mumbai
Mumbai is all set to ring in Christmas festivities from today, though night curfew and restrictions on mass prayers have come as a disappointment for the Christian community. Several churches in the city had made arrangements for one member from each local family to attend the Christmas mass so as to avoid large gatherings in view of the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reported.
Turkey to start vaccinations with China's Sinovac vaccineTurkey will receive its first shipment of China's Sinovac vaccine within days and also strike a deal with Pfizer/BioNTech, Health Minister Fahrettin 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.
The minister said the first shipments of the Chinese vaccine will be sent to Turkey on Sunday. Turkey 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.
First 300,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik vaccine arrive in ArgentinaSome 300,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Argentina this morning, following its approval by the government for emergency use. On a special flight of carrier Aerolineas Argentinas from Moscow, the vaccine arrived at Ezeiza international airport, in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, according to Reuters witnesses and images shown on local television.
Argentine officials said they expect to start administering the vaccine in the days ahead. So far 42,314 people in the country have died of COVID-19, according to official data.
Germany records first case of UK Covid strainGermany recorded its first case of the mutant coronavirus variant sweeping Britain, after a woman who flew in from London tested positive for the strain. "It is the first known case in Germany," the health ministry of Baden-Wuerttemberg state said in a statement.
The woman had arrived in Frankfurt airport on December 20 from London Heathrow.
Bihar reports 668 new COVID-19 cases, four more deaths
Bihar's COVID-19 tally mounted to 2,49,335 as 668 more people tested positive for the infection, while four deaths pushed the death count to 1,371, a health department bulletin said. At least 522 people were cured of the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,42,766, it said.
New Covid strains less likely to change efficacy of under development vaccines, says scientistThe new strains of SARS-Cov-2 found in the United Kingdom and South Africa recently are less likely to change the efficacy of the vaccines under development, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu was informed on Thursday by a senior scientist. Besides, there is no evidence that suggests that the strains are associated with worse outcomes for patients, although they are more infective, he was told.
The same disease management strategies are expected to work for the variants too, an official statement said.
Uttar Pradesh reports 21 more COVID-19 deaths, 1,166 new cases
Uttar Pradesh reported 21 more COVID-19 fatalities and 1,166 new cases, pushing the death count to 8,266 and the infection tally to 5,78,697 in the state. Currently, there are 16,229 active cases in the state, and 5,54,202 people have recovered from the disease so far, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad said. He said the recovery rate in the state stood at 95.75 per cent.
COVID-19 Live Updates: Mexico begins mass coronavirus vaccination program
Mexico started a mass coronavirus vaccination program on Thursday with a nurse first to be shown receiving the jab in the country with one of the world's highest Covid-19 death counts. The televised launch came a day after the first 3,000 doses produced by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech arrived by courier plane from Belgium.
Tripura reports 13 more COVID-19 cases, count rises to 33,216Thirteen more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura, pushing the tally to 33,216, a health department official said. The COVID-19 death count rose to 381 after one more patient died due to the infection on Wednesday, he said. West Tripura district, of which state capital Agartala is a part, has accounted for 190 of the 381 COVID-19 deaths,
the official said.
Serbia begins COVID-19 vaccination drivePrime Minister Ana Brnabic received Serbia's first COVID-19 vaccine shot, kicking off a mass inoculation drive with doses developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. Serbia is the third country in Europe to start mass COVID-19 inoculations after Britain and Switzerland.
Some 4,875 doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccines were flown on Tuesday to Serbia. "I'm honoured to be able to do this for my country and be the first one, paving the way for other citizens (to be vaccinated)," Brnabic said after being inoculated at the Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Sera in Belgrade.
Two On UK Flights Test COVID-19 Positive, Flee DelhiTwo passengers on UK flights who tested positive on arrival in Delhi this week fled isolation centres and reached their hometowns in Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. They have been tracked down and admitted in government facilities amid worries about a fast-spreading mutant strain of the coronavirus found in the UK.
Read more Israel to impose third national COVID-19 lockdownIsrael will impose a third national lockdown to fight climbing COVID-19 infections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The curbs will come into effect on Sunday evening and last for 14 days, pending final cabinet approval, a statement from Netanyahu's office said.
The restrictions include the closure of shops, limited public transport, a partial shutdown of schools and a one-kilometre restriction on travel from home, except for commuting to workplaces that remain open and to purchase essential goods.
15 new cases take Mizoram's COVID-19 tally to 4,156Fifteen more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram, taking the tally in the state to 4,156, a health department official said. Of the fresh cases, 11 were reported from Aizawl, three from Kolasib and one from Lawngtlai districts, he said.
Ten new patients have travel history, while three were detected during contact tracing and it is yet to be ascertained how the remaining two people contracted the disease, the official said.
French President showing no more COVID-19 symptoms, says his officeFrench President Emmanuel Macron is showing no more symptoms of COVID-19, the Elysee office said. Mr Macron, 43, can now end his quarantine after he self-isolated for seven days at the presidential retreat of La Lanterne, close to the Palace of Versailles, the office said in a statement.
Emmanuel Macron had tested positive for the coronavirus on December 17, prompting a track-and-trace effort across Europe following numerous meetings between the French leader and EU heads of government in recent days.
China suspends UK flights over mutant coronavirus strainChina on Thursday suspended flights to and from Britain after it reported a new, more infectious strain of the coronavirus.
China has largely curbed the spread of Covid-19 within its borders, but authorities remain highly vigilant about the threat of "imported" virus cases.
"Given the exceptional nature of the virus mutation and its potential impact ... China has suspended flights between China and the UK after full assessment," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a routine briefing.
Karnataka Issues SOPs For Night Curfew; Allows Midnight Christmas Massln the light of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus detected in the United Kingdom, the Karnataka Police on Thursday issued the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the night curfew that has been imposed in the state between 11 pm and 5 am, effective from today till January 2.
In this regard, Karnataka police has issued an order which states that the movement of individuals will remain strictly prohibited between 11.00 pm to 5.00 am, except for essential activities.
Read more Coronavirus dampens holidays worldwide as vaccinations gather speed
Thousands of truckers endured Christmas Eve stranded near a major British port, ensnared in the chaos unleashed by a new coronavirus strain, as Western nations accelerated vaccination programmes.
European nations on Wednesday had started easing travel bans on Britain to contain a new coronavirus strain that UK officials believe spreads faster, with thousands of lorry drivers stranded in Britain.
But some truckers feared there was little chance of making it across the Channel in time for the holidays, which have been marred around the world because of the pandemic.
"Home for Christmas? Forget it," said Laurent Beghin, a French driver who delivered his cargo of paint on Sunday but was still stuck in England as of Wednesday.
Scuffles broke out between police and truckers complaining of poor facilities and a lack of virus tests at one lorry park in southern England.
Passengers with negative virus tests on Wednesday also boarded the first Eurostar trains from London to France since border closures were introduced on Sunday, eager to spend Christmas with their families.
Virus-delayed Tokyo Olympic sponsors to extend contracts: organisers
Organisers for the virus-postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics said Thursday they have reached "basic agreement" with all domestic sponsors to extend their contracts by a year, securing much-needed additional funds.
Keeping all 68 domestic sponsors on board for another year is all the more important for organisers as the cost of the Games balloons because of the unprecedented delay and the need for coronavirus countermeasures.
In a statement, Tokyo 2020 said the "basic agreement" meant they were now "proceeding with the conclusion of contracts with all partners."
But organisers declined to be drawn on just when the final details would be ironed out, nor give details on how much individual contract extensions were worth.
All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) puts up an advertisement asking volunteers to enroll for Phase-3 clinical trial of indigenously developed Covid vaccine, COVAXIN. The last date of enrolment is December 31, 2020.
JustIn| Delhi government fully prepared to receive, store and give vaccine to priority category persons in city: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
There are 51 lakh priority category persons for COVID-19 vaccine in city: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
India's COVID-19 active cases now comprise only 2.8 per cent of total caseloadThe ongoing trend of contraction in India's COVID-19 active infections has led to shrinking of the share of active cases in the total caseload to 2.8 per cent, the Union health ministry said on Thursday.
The tally of active case of the disease in the country stands at 2,83,849 as on date.
"A net decline of 5,391 cases from the total active caseload was registered in the last 24 hours," the ministry said.
Daily recoveries have outnumbered the daily new cases after nearly a month (27 days), it said.
"In a span of 24 hours, only 24,712 persons were found to be COVID positive in the country. During the same period, 29,791 new recoveries were registered ensuring drop in the active caseload," the ministry stated.
"India has recorded less than 30,000 daily new cases continuously since the last 11 days," it said.
Update| Yesterday there were 871 positive cases in Delhi. For the last three days, less than 1,000 cases have surfaced per day. The infection rate has been below 2% for a few days. The situation seems to be mellow for now: Satyendar Jain, Delhi Health Minister
COVID-19: 574 new cases, 2 deaths in Telangana
Telangana posted 574 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the aggregate to more than 2.83 lakh while two fatalities pushed the toll to 1,524.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 109, followed by Rangareddy 48 and Medchal Malkajgiri 42, a government bulletin said on Thursday providing details as of 8 pm on December 23.
Over 2.75 lakh people have recovered from the disease so far.
As many as6,815 patients are under treatment and44,516 samples were tested on Wednesday.
UK returnee tests COVID-19 positive in Nagpur
A 28-year-old man who recently returned from the UK has tested positive for coronavirus at Nagpur in Maharashtra, an official said on Thursday.
After the government earlier this week imposed travel restrictions to and from the UK, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) appealed to those having recent travel history to that country to inform the civic body about it.
"The person concerned on his own informed us about his travel history to the United Kingdom. He returned to Nagpur from the UK 15 days back," NMC Commissioner Radhakrishnan B told PTI.
His RT-PCR test was conducted on Tuesday and he tested positive on Wednesday. The patient's swab samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for further examination, the official said.
Moderna Expects Its COVID-19 Vaccine To Protect Against UK Coronavirus Variant
Moderna Inc said on Wednesday it expects that the immunity induced by its COVID-19 vaccine would be protective against the coronavirus variants reported in the UK.
The company said it plans to run tests to confirm the vaccine's activity against any strain.
Moderna's comments came amid the British government's plan to place huge swathes of England under its strictest COVID-19 restrictions as a highly infectious virus variant sweeps the country.
The company said it expects its vaccine, which was recently granted the U.S. emergency use authorization, to be protective against the UK variant based on data to date.
JustIn| 24,712 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, 3% higher than yesterday; 1.01 crore total cases, 1,46,756 deaths
COVID-19: Rajasthan to impose night curfew on December 31 in cities
In view of the prevailing COVID-19 situation, Rajasthan government on Wednesday imposed a night curfew between 8.00 pm on December 31, 2020, and 6.00 am on January 1, 2021, in all cities in the state having a population of over one lakh.
As per the official notification issued by the government, markets in the areas where the night curfew is imposed will close at 7.00 pm.
It further said that all gathering on the occasion of New Year will be restricted, and bursting of firecrackers will also be banned.
Notification added that maintaining 6 feet of social distancing, wearing a mask and proper sanitisation is mandatory at all places of worship.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Submitted For UK ApprovalThe University of Oxford and drug manufacturer AstraZeneca have applied to the UK health regulator for permission to roll out their Covid-19 vaccine, Health Minister Matt Hancock said Wednesday.
"I'm delighted to be able to tell you that the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine developed here in the UK has submitted its full data package to the MHRA for approval," he said.
"This is the next step towards a decision on the deployment of the vaccine," the health minister added at a press conference where he announced Britain would impose travel restrictions on South Africa to curb the spread of another new, more transmissible strain of the coronavirus.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus shot to be authorised for use by the UK's independent medicines regulator and has been given to 500,000 of the country's most vulnerable people since its rollout last month.
Covid-19 LIVE Updates: New, More Infectious Coronavirus Strain From South Africa Found In UK
A new, potentially more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has been found in Britain in cases linked to South Africa, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday.
South Africa's health department said last week that a new genetic mutation of the virus had been discovered and might be responsible for a recent surge in infections there.
"Thanks to the impressive genomic capability of the South Africans, we've detected two cases of another new variant of coronavirus here in the UK," Hancock told a media briefing.
"Both are contacts of cases who have travelled from South Africa over the past few weeks."
COVID-19: 437 new cases take Himachal's tally to 53,392
Himachal Pradesh reported 437 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, according to the State Health Department.
With this, the Covid-19 tally of the state reached 53,392 including 4,629 active cases.
While 882 people have succumbed to the lethal virus, 47,834 persons have recovered from the viral infection.
Coronavirus news - One Million Americans Vaccinated Against COVID-19: Official
More than a million people have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield said Wednesday.
"The United States achieved an early but important milestone today -- jurisdictions have now reported that more than one million people have received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine since administration began 10 days ago," he said.
Covid-19: Maharashtra registers 3,913 new cases, 93 deaths
As many as 3,913 new coronavirus cases and 93 fatalities were reported in Maharashtra on Wednesday, according to the State Health Department.
With this, the tally of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the state has reached 19,06,371, including 54,573 active cases and 48,969 deaths.
Besides, 7,620 people also reportedly recovered on Wednesday in Maharashtra, pushing the total number of recoveries to 18,01,700.