New Delhi: India recorded 32,080 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of active coronavirus cases in the country to 3,78,909, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday. With 36.635 new recoveries, the number of overall recovered COVID-19 patients stand at 92,15,581, pushing the recovery rate to 94.66 per cent.
The overall COVID-19 cases reached 97,35,850, including 3,78,909 active cases and 92,15,581 recoveries. With 402 new deaths, the casualties mounted to 1,41,360
Meanwhile, Oxford University and AstraZeneca on Tuesday became the first Covid-19 vaccine makers to publish final-stage clinical trial data in a scientific journal, clearing a key hurdle in the global race to produce safe and effective drugs for the coronavirus.
The study, published in the respected Lancet medical journal, confirmed that the vaccine works in an average of 70 percent of cases.
Here are the updates on coronavirus (COVID-19) cases:
Dec 10, 2020 04:04 (IST)
Coronavirus News: National Students' Union Urges Goa Chief Minister To Call Off Physical Classes Over Covid
National Students' Union of India's Goa president Ahraz Mulla on Wednesday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant asking for physical classes for educational institutes to be called off due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, reported news agency ANI. This comes after new coronavirus cases were reported in two of Goa's schools.
Dec 10, 2020 00:52 (IST)
Coronavirus News: 146 Fresh Cases Detected In Assam
Assam's COVID-19 tally went up to 2,14,165 on Wednesday after 146 fresh cases of infection were detected from various parts of the state, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, reported news agency PTI. The death count increased to 998 with another death in the state's Dibrugarh district.
Dec 10, 2020 00:42 (IST)
Coronavirus News: Sikkim Reports 24 New COVID-19 Cases
Sikkim reported 24 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the tally to 5,239, an official said, reported news agency PTI. East Sikkim registered 17 cases, while South Sikkim and West Sikkim districts recorded five and two cases, respectively, he said. There are 368 active cases in the state at present. So far, 4,661 patients have recovered from the disease and 117 died, he said.
Dec 09, 2020 23:54 (IST)
Tamil Nadu reports 1,232 new COVID-19 cases
As many as 1,232 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Tamil Nadu, according to the State Health Department. While 1,315 people recovered from the virus today, 14 people died due to the infection in the state. With the fresh new cases today, 7,94,020 cases of coronavirus have been recorded so far while 7,71,693 people have recovered and 11,836 have died.
Dec 09, 2020 23:32 (IST)
Coronavirus Live Updates: New York expects first vaccine doses within days
New York is expected to receive its first doses of the coronavirus vaccine as early as this weekend, Governor Andrew Cuomo said. He said he expected the US Food and Drug Administration to grant emergency authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech jab on Thursday, paving the way for delivery. "We expect delivery of 170,000 doses as soon as this weekend," Mr Cuomo said. "First priority will be for nursing home residents and staff and high-risk hospital workers," he added.
Dec 09, 2020 22:45 (IST)
Covaxin to be available in the first quarter of next year, says Bharat Biotech
Covaxin, a vaccine for COVID-19, will be available in the first quarter of next year, said Suchitra Ella, joint managing director of Bharat Biotech. "With safety and efficacy data, Covaxin will be available in the first quarter of next year to the categories and the first responders according to the plan that govt of India is embarking upon for phased vaccination," Ms Ella told news agency ANI.
Dec 09, 2020 22:10 (IST)
Canada approves Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
Canada has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, days after Britain became the first country to greenlight and roll it out. "Today, Canada reached a critical milestone in its fight against Covid-19 with the authorization of the first Covid-19 vaccine," Health Canada said in a statement. The vaccine, it added, had undergone a fast-tracked review, which concluded that it met "stringent safety, efficacy and quality requirements for use in Canada."
Dec 09, 2020 21:37 (IST)
Top Court seeks replies of Centre, states on aspects of COVID-19 guidelines, fire safety in hospitals
The Supreme Court sought "detailed" response from the Centre as well as states on issues ranging from adhering to COVID-19 guidelines on wearing of face masks and social distancing norms to implementation of fire safety guidelines in hospitals and nursing homes across the country. The top court was hearing a suo motu case registered by it to ensure proper treatment of COVID-19 patients in hospitals and dignified handling of dead bodies there.
Dec 09, 2020 21:18 (IST)
Coronavirus live: UK warns people with serious allergies to avoid Pfizer vaccine after two adverse reactions
Britain's medicine regulator has advised that people with a history of significant allergies do not get Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine after two people reported adverse reactions on the first day of rollout. 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.
Dec 09, 2020 19:57 (IST)
Coronavirus Live: Delhi records 2,463 new cases, positivity rate 3.42%
Delhi recorded 2,463 fresh COVID-19 cases with over 72,000 tests being conducted, even as the positivity rate dropped to 3.42 per cent, authorities said. The positivity rate on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday had 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 Tuesday it had risen again to 4.23 per cent.
Dec 09, 2020 19:18 (IST)
Coronavirus live updates: Jammu and Kashmir reports 369 COVID-19 cases, 6 more deaths
Jammu and Kashmir's COVID-19 tally mounted to 1,14,407 with 369 fresh cases while six more fatalities pushed the death count to 1,767, officials said. Of the fresh cases, 190 were reported from the Jammu division and 179 from the Kashmir division, they said. Jammu district recorded the highest number of new cases at 89, followed by 86 in Srinagar, according to the officials.
Dec 09, 2020 19:00 (IST)
Lack of adequate cold chain biggest challenge in COVID-19 vaccine distribution: Report
Despite having one of the largest universal immunization programmes (UIPs), lack of cold chain may prove to be one of the biggest challenges for India in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, a foreign brokerage said. The cold chain market with 37 million tonne capacity is very fragmented in India, and the country does not have a single cold chain operator with a capacity of over 5,000 tonne, analysts at Bofa Securities said adding very few of the 3,500 companies are "pharma-compliant" as per WHO norms.
Dec 09, 2020 18:03 (IST)
COVID-19 live updates: Germany battles soaring virus deaths
Germany was battling a second virus wave much more deadly than the first on Wednesday with record fatalities. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging regions to take much more drastic action to curb the spread, after state leaders agreed measures that would see comparatively modest social restrictions eased even further for the Christmas holidays. "If we have too many contacts before Christmas and it ends up being the last Christmas with the grandparents, then we'd really have failed," she said.
Dec 09, 2020 17:41 (IST)
Coronavirus Live Updates: Mumbai civic body to set up new COVID-19 vaccine storage facility
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is setting up a new COVID-19 vaccine storage facility at one its buildings in Kanjurmarg area in Mumbai, officials said. The new vaccine storage facility will be in addition to the existing cold storage facilities at four civic-run hospitals in the city, BMC's additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said.
Dec 09, 2020 17:04 (IST)
Rich countries have bought too many COVID-19 vaccines, says Amnesty
Rich countries have secured enough coronavirus vaccines to protect their populations nearly three times over by the end of 2021, Amnesty International and other groups said, possibly depriving billions of people in poorer areas. Amnesty and other organisations including Frontline AIDS, Global Justice Now and Oxfam, urged governments and the pharmaceutical industry to take action to ensure intellectual property of vaccines is shared widely. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also called on governments repeatedly this year to make a vaccine protecting against COVID-19 a "public good".
Dec 09, 2020 16:39 (IST)
Coronavirus Live Updates: UK medicine body to assess best dose regimen of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine
Britain's medical regulator will examine all the data from trials of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca, including which dosing regimen is best to use, the regulator's chief executive said. "Our regulatory review is all encompassing. We will look at all available data," June Raine, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), told lawmakers after a study showed the vaccine had efficacy of 62% for trial participants given two full doses, but 90% for a smaller sub-group given a half, then a full dose.
