Coronavirus cases in India: India recorded 35,551 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday.
Addressing an all-party meeting over the coronavirus situation in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, experts believe the wait for the vaccine will not be long, adding that it may be ready in a few weeks.
"India will start Covid vaccination after experts give the nod," PM Modi said.
The vaccine distribution and administration is given to a national experts group. Advice will be taken from them on a comprehensive and real-time manner, he added.
India recorded 36,594 fresh COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, taking the overall coronavirus case count to 95.71 lakh. At 3 per cent, the daily tally is marginally higher than Wednesday's, government data shows. The country Covid death count rose to 1,39,188 as 540 people lost their lives to the disease.
Total active cases, or those receiving treatment for COVID-19, fell to 4,16,082 as total discharged cases shot past the 90-lakh mark with 42,916 people recovering from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
Here are the LIVE updates on India Coronavirus Cases:
JMI Researchers Develop Solar Powered COVID-19 Disinfection TunnelResearchers of Jamia Millia Islamia's (JMI's) Department of Mechanical Engineering have developed a solar-powered disinfection system to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or similar diseases in large gathering, public and remote places. This disinfectant can be self-generated using solar energy and tap water.
"The disinfection system is mainly intended for remote or public places such as, banks, malls, hospitals, marriage halls, party halls, airports, universities, schools, temples, colleges and etc, where the transportation of chemicals and electricity availability for disinfection is scarce, thereby self-generating the mixture with available tap water using the solar energy," a JMI statement read.
Read Delhi Seeks Health Workers' Data For Covid Vaccine By Dec 5 MidnightThe Delhi government has directed all public and private medical facilities to finish enrolling their healthcare workers by December 5 midnight for a COVID-19 vaccine, which should be available in a few weeks.
According to sources, many registered and non-registered facilities have already submitted this data as the process had started in October.
The government-run facilities that have not completed the task been told to upload the data on Delhi State Health Mission website -- https://dshm.delhi.gov.in. Private health facilities will have to seek login access to submit the names.
Healthcare workers include all medical, para-medical, supporting, security, sanitation and administration staff at centre of allopathy, dentistry, Ayush, physiotherapy, diagnostic and radiology labs.
Read WHO Chief "Happy" To Have Covid-19 Vaccine On Camera
The World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday that he, like several former US presidents, would be happy to have a coronavirus vaccine.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed news that US president-elect Joe Biden, and former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have said they will volunteer to get an approved vaccine on camera.
"It's a good idea... I think it's very good that they already have shown their commitment. They can influence," he told reporters.
WHO Warns Against Complacency After Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout The vaccine launch will not by itself eliminate the deadly coronavirus, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
The world health body also against complacency and what it said was an erroneous belief that because vaccines are on the near-horizon, the crisis is over.
"Vaccines do not equal zero Covid," WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a virtual news conference.
"Vaccines and vaccination will add a major, major, powerful tool to the tool kit that we have. But by themselves, they will not do the job."
COVID-19: 20 more deaths, 726 new cases in PunjabTwenty more deaths due to the coronavirus pushed the count to 4,882 in Punjab, while 726 new cases raised the infection count to 1,54,788 on Friday, according to a medical bulletin.
The new fatalities were reported from several districts including Amritsar, Faridkot, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Muktsar and Pathankot, the bulletin said.
There are 7,785 active COVID-19 cases in the state, as of now, it said.
Mohali reported 133 new cases, the highest in the state, followed by 126 in Jalandhar and 100 in Ludhiana.
A total of 643 more patients were discharged after recovering from the infection, taking the recovery count to 1,42,121, according to the bulletin.
Nine critical COVID-19 patients are on ventilator support while 163 are on oxygen support, the bulletin said.
A total of 32,95,141 samples have been collected for COVID-19 testing in the state, it said.
Delhi records 4,067 new COVID-19 cases from over record 85,000 testsDelhi registered 4,067 new COVID-19 cases on Friday with over 85,000 tests being conducted in a day, even as the positivity rate dipped to 4.78 per cent, authorities said.
These fresh cases came out of a record 85,003 tests conducted the previous day, including 40,191 RT-PCR tests, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.
The COVID-19 positivity rate had slumped was 4.96 per cent on Thursday.
Seventy-three fatalities were recorded on Friday, pushing the toll in the national capital to 9,497.
The active cases tally has dropped to 28,252 from 29,120 the previous day.
The bulletin said the total number of cases has climbed to 5,86,125, while the recovery rate was over 93 per cent.
The number of containment zones in Delhi jumped to 5,909 on Friday from 5,759 on Thursday.
The highest single-day spike till date -- 8,593 cases -- was reported on November 11.
813 new coronavirus cases in Mumbai, 14 deathsThe tally of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai increased to 2,84,502 with 813 new infections coming to light on Friday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said.
The death count rose to 10,871 with 14 new fatalities, it said.
The financial capital of the country reported less than 1,000 cases on the sixth day in a row.
The number of recovered COVID-19 patients increased to 2,59,137, around 91 per cent of the tally, with 1,025 more patients discharged from hospitals.
The city has 12,926 active COVID-19 cases.
So far over 19.55 lakh COVID-19 tests have been conducted in the city.
Andhra local body polls: Assembly passes resolution against holding polls amid COVID pandemicThe Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Friday hit out at the State Election Commission
for seeking to conduct elections to the local bodies amid the COVID-19 pandemic and passed a resolution stating that the present situation in the state is not conducive for elections in February 2021.
Deputy Chief Minister (Health) A K K Srinivas moved the resolution at the fag end of the five-day winter session and Legislative Affairs Minister Buggana Rajendranath supported it.
The House then passed it "unanimously" in the absence of opposition Telugu Desam Party members who had staged a walkout earlier following suspension of ten of its MLAs.
322 new coronavirus cases, 13 deaths in Ahmedabad districtThe death count due to coronavirus in Ahmedabad district reached 2,100 on Friday with
13 patients dying in 24 hours, the Gujarat health department said on Friday evening.
The district's tally of cases went up to 51,392 with 322 new cases coming to light during the day.
Of 18 COVID-19 deaths in Gujarat since Thursday evening, Ahmedabad city alone accounted for 13.
1,579 new coronavirus cases in Chhattisgarh, 15 deathsChhattisgarh on Friday reported 1,579 fresh COVID-19 cases and 15 fatalities, taking the total
infection count to 2,43,997 and death count to 2,956, a health official said.
The number of recoveries reached 2,21,690 after 268 people were discharged from hospitals while 1,051 others completed their home isolation.
There are 19,351 active cases in the state now, the official said.
Raipur district reported 196 new cases, taking its case count to 47,373, including 669 deaths.
Maharashtra accounts for most number of active COVID-19 cases, deaths in country: CentreMaharashtra accounts for the highest number of both 86,612 active COVID-19 cases and 47,472 fatalities in the country, according to the latest Union health ministry data on Friday.
In terms of active cases, Maharashtra is followed by Kerala with 61,342 cases and Delhi with 29,120 cases. As far as the number of fatalities is concerned, Maharashtra is followed by Karnataka (11,821) and Delhi (9,424).
Maharashtra also accounts for the highest number of recoveries so far which is over 17 lakh. It is followed by Andhra Pradesh (8,56,320) and Karnataka (8,52,584).
The health ministry said 80.19 per cent of the new recovered cases reported in a span of 24 hours are contributed by 10 states and union territories -- Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Maharashtra leads with 8,066 persons recovering from COVID-19, while Kerala recorded 5,590 recoveries and Delhi 4,834.
249 new coronavirus cases found in SuratAs many as 249 new coronavirus cases were found in Surat district of Gujarat in the last 24
hours, the Gujarat Health Department said on Friday evening.
Surat's caseload thus went up to 43,477.
Two persons from Surat city succumbed to the infection during this period, taking the death count in the district to 1,079, the department said in a release.
While 212 persons were found positive in Surat city, 37 cases were reported from rural areas since Thursday evening.
On the other hand, 273 coronavirus patients were discharged in the last 24 hours, including 61 from rural parts of the district.
Left MPs from Kerala want COVID-19 vaccine to be provided free of costLeft MPs from Kerala on Friday demanded that the proposed vaccine for COVID-19 should be made available free of charge.
CPI-M leader Elamaram Kareem and Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Shreyams Kumar saidthere was no clarity on the part of the central government on the distribution and storage
of the vaccine.
They were speaking to reporters here after an online all-party meeting with leaders of various political outfits and top union ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country.
3 more COVID-19 deaths, 111 new cases in ChandigarhThree more deaths due to COVID-19 in Chandigarh brought the count to 287, while 111 new cases took the infection tally to 17,828 on Friday, according to a medical bulletin.
The Union Territory has 928 active cases of the novel coronavirus, as of now, according to a medical bulletin.
A total of 161 patients were discharged after they recovered from the infection, taking the recovery count to 16,613, the bulletin said.
So far 1,49,019 samples have been taken for COVID-19 testing and 1,30,367 of them tested negative while reports of 156 are awaited, it said.
COVID: Haryana reports 19 deaths, 1,602 new casesHaryana on Friday reported 19 more deaths linked to the coronavirus, bringing the death count to 2,539, while 1,602 fresh cases pushed the state''s infection tally to 2,40,841, according to a bulletin.
The new fatalities included four each from Gurugram, Faridabad and Hisar districts, the state health department's daily bulletin said.
Among the districts which reported a big spike in cases included Gurugram (423), Faridabad (336) and Rohtak (107).
The number of active cases in Haryana stands at 14,329 and the state has a COVID-19 recovery rate of 93 per cent, according to the bulletin.
544 new COVID-19 cases, 12 deaths in Jammu annd KashmirJammu and Kashmir on Friday recorded 544 fresh cases of the novel coronavirus and 12 deaths due to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the infection count to 1,12,256 and the fatality count to 1,730, officials said.
Of the fresh cases, 288 are from the Jammu division and 256 from the Kashmir division, they said.
The officials said Srinagar district recorded a maximum of 118 new COVID-19 cases, followed by 109 in Jammu district.
The number of active cases dropped to 4,989 in the Union Territory as 647 more patients recovered from the infection. A total of 1,05,537 COVID-19 patients have recovered in the UT, the officials said.
Eight of the new fatalities linked to the virus were from Jammu and four from the Kashmir region, they said.
Nagpur records 422 new COVID-19 cases; seven more casualtiesThe COVID-19 caseload in Maharashtra's Nagpur district rose to 1,13,691 after 422 new
infections were detected on Friday, an official said.
The district also recorded seven casualties that took the death count to 3,714, the official said.
Of the fatalities reported so far, Nagpur city alone accounted for 2,555 deaths, while 1,159 were recorded in rural areas and outside the district, he said.
As many as 262 patients were discharged from various treatment facilities during the day, taking the count of recoveries to 1,04,399, the official said.
The district is now left with 5,578 active cases, he added.
Gujarat: 1,510 new COVID-19 cases, 18 deaths, 1,627 recoveriesGujarat recorded 1,510 new cases of coronavirus and 18 deaths in the last 24 hours, the
health department said on Friday evening.
The state's caseload thus went up to 2,15,819 and death count to 4,049.
The number of recovered patients increased to 1,96,992 with 1,627 patients getting discharged since Thursday evening.
Of 18 coronavirus patients who died in 24 hours, 13 died in Ahmedabad city alone, followed by two each in Surat and Rajkot districts and one in Vadodara.
1,324 new coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh, 14 deathsMadhya Pradesh on Friday recorded 1,324 new COVID-19 cases, taking the caseload to 2,11,698,
health officials said.
With 14 more people dying to the viral infection, the death count in the state rose to 3,314.
A total of 1,556 patients were discharged from hospitals since Thursday evening, taking the recovery count to 1,94,743.
Of new fatalities, five died in Indore district, two each in Gwalior and Sagar, one each in Bhopal, Raisen, Jhabua, Harda and Tikamgarh.
599 new COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh, 913 recoveriesAndhra Pradesh reported 599 new COVID-19 cases, 913 recoveries and six deaths in 24 hours
ending 9 am on Friday.
Consequently, the states COVID-19 chart showed 8,70,675 total positives, 8,57,233 recoveries and 7,020 deaths so far.
The number of active cases dropped to 6,422, a health department bulletin said.
Only Krishna district reported 115 new cases while 12 other districts added less than 100 cases each.
Krishna district also saw two fresh COVID-19 fatalities while four other districts reported one death each, the bulletin added.
Andhra Pradesh to get one crore doses of vaccine in 3-4 months, says Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy
Andhra Pradesh is expected to get one crore doses of the prospective vaccine for coronavirus in the next three to four months, PTI reported quoting Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday.
The state government was fully gearing up for administering the vaccine, he said.
Winding up a short discussion in the Legislative Assembly on COVID-19 containment measures, the Chief Minister spoke about the government's plan to administer the vaccine once it became available.
The Centre indicated that the vaccine would be available in 3-4 months and one crore people would be covered in the first phase in the state.
COVID Latest News: Doctor's prescription not needed for COVID test in Gujarat now
A doctor's prescription will no longer be necessary to get tested for coronavirus in Gujarat, the state government announced on Friday.
Earlier this week, the state government had reduced the rate for RT-PCR test for coronavirus at private laboratories from Rs 1,500 to Rs 800.
As per the new guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), people can get themselves tested at designated laboratories without any prescription or recommendation from doctors, which was compulsory till now for RT-PCR tests, a government release said.
Coronavirus Latest News: Ladakh reports 68 new cases, tally up to 8,691
Ladakh has reported 68 COVID-19 cases, taking the virus count in the Union territory to 8,691, while 71 patients were cured and discharged during the past 24 hours, PTI reported quoting officials on Friday.
As per the media bulletin, 68 people tested positive for COVID-19 and out of the total positive reports, 60 tested positive in Leh and eight in Kargil.
55 patients were discharged after treatment, raising the number of those who have recovered from the infection to 7,713, which is over 87 per cent of the total cases, they said.
The total number of COVID-19 active cases in Ladakh has come down to 859 with 747 in Leh district and 112 in Kargil district.
COVID Latest News: Dharavi reports just one coronavirus case today
The number of COVID-19 cases in the slum-dominated Dharavi area of Mumbai rose to 3,716 with only one new case reported on Friday, PTI reported quoting a civic official.
On Thursday, the area had reported 15 COVID-19 cases, a double-digit spike after a gap of 11 days.
Out of 3,716 COVID-19 patients, 3,380 have recovered, while there are 25 active cases.
Delhi successful in COVID fight if positivity rate remains below 4% for 5 days: Satyendar Jain
Health Minister Satyendar Jain said today that if the COVID-19 positivity rate in the national capital stays below 4 per cent for five consecutive days, it would mean Delhi has been successful in combating the pandemic, according to PTI.
He also said there is "enough resources for the application as well as storage of vaccine" and mohalla clinics, polyclinics, dispensaries and hospitals will facilitate the application.
The positivity rate in Delhi decreased to 4.96 per cent on Thursday.
"For people who have already recovered from COVID-19, their body has produced antibodies naturally. So, they do not need to be vaccinated in the first phase," he said.
Coronavirus LIVE News: Delhi government begins enrolment of healthcare workers for COVID vaccination
Delhi government has begun the process of enrolment of healthcare workers of different hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities for Covid vaccination, PTI reported.
Coronavirus Latest News: Six months extension to MPhil, PhD students for thesis submission
University Grants Commission has granted an extension of six months for submission of thesis to MPhil and Phd students in the wake of prolonged closure of universities due to Covid, PTI reported.
Earlier, the students were granted extension till December 31. However, the same has been extended till June 30 now, but the tenure of fellowship for PhD and MPhil will remain the same -- 5 years.
Coronavirus LIVE News: 377 more people test positive in Odisha, tally rises to 3,20,394
Odisha's Covid tally rises to 3,20,394 as 377 more people test positive. Five more fatalities push the number of deaths to 1,760, PTI reported citing health department.
Covid vaccine to be first given to healthcare and frontline workers: PM Modi
Addressing an all-party meeting over the coronavirus situation in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Experts believe that Covid vaccine will be ready in the next few weeks. As soon as scientists give a green signal, vaccination will start in India."
The first people to get the Covid vaccine will be frontline healthcare workers, elderly people and those suffering life-threatening symptoms and diseases, PM Modi said.
Public health will be top priority as far as Covid vaccine pricing is concerned and the states will be fully involved, PM Modi added.
Our scientists are confident of succeeding in making COVID vaccine: PM Modi
Coronavirus LIVE News: PM Modi addresses all-party meet to discuss the COVID-19 situation
Coronavirus Latest News: Puducherry adds 46 new cases, one fatality takes number of deaths to 614
Puducherry registered 46 new coronavirus cases, while one fatality pushed the number of deaths to 614 in the union territory, PTI reported quoting top health department official on Friday.
While the Puducherry and Mahe regions accounted for 20 each of the 46 fresh infections, Karaikal had four and Yanam.
The Health department Director said 62 patients recovered and were discharged during the last 24 hours.
Of the total 37,165 COVID-19 cases, 427 were active, he said, adding, 36,124 patients had recovered and discharged so far.
Zydus Cadila gets Drugs Controller General of India nod for phase 3 clinical trials with biological therapy
Drug firm Zydus Cadila said it has received the approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to start phase 3 clinical trials with its biological therapy PegiHep in COVID-19 patients, PTI reported.
The company had completed the phase 2 clinical trials with PegiHep last month.
In a regulatory filing, Zydus Cadila said it has received approval from the DCGI to start the phase 3 clinical trials in COVID-19 patients with its biological therapy Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b or PegiHep.
The trials, which will commence in December, will be conducted on 250 patients across 20-25 centres in India, according to the filing.
Covid-19 LIVE Updates: 591 new COVID-19 cases, 7 deaths in Maharashtra's Thane
With the addition of 591 new coronavirus cases, the overall infection tally in Thane district of Maharashtra rose to 2,30,722, an official said on Friday.
As the virus claimed the lives of seven patients during the day, the number of deaths in the district went up to 5,709, the official said.
The district's recovery rate has reached 94.34 per cent and the mortality rate 2.47 per cent. The number of active cases in the district is 7,358.
In the neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count was 43,005 and number of deaths was 1,158, the official said.
Coronavirus Latest News: All-party meeting on COVID-19 situation begins
An all-party meeting to discuss the COVID-19 situation in the country has begun. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to arrive. About 12 leaders from prominent political parties will be speaking at the meeting.
Opposition leaders are also expected to question the government about the expected availability of the COVID-19 vaccine and plans for its distribution, PTI reported quoting sources.
This will be the second all-party meeting called by the government to discuss the COVID-19 situation since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Covid-19 LIVE Updates: Kerala added 5,376 cases, Maharashtra 5,182 infections
Kerala (5,376), Maharashtra (5,182), Delhi (3,734), West Bengal (3,246) and Rajasthan (2,086) continued to log the highest new infections.
66 residents of Maharashtra village test COVID-19 positive in a week: Report
Sixty-six residents in Maharashtra''s Jalna district have tested positive for coronavirus within a week, news agency PTI reported quoting a health official. The village, located in Jalna tehsil, has a population of 1,700.
"Between November 26 and December 3, a total of 66 people in the village tested coronavirus positive," Rahmani Shakil, medical officer of the primary health centre, said. On December 1 alone, as many as 35 villagers were found infected, he said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Six more die of COVID-19 in Jharkhand, 233 new cases detected
Jharkhand reported 233 new cases, taking the state's tally to 1,09,771, PTI reported quoting officials.
Six more people died of the disease in the last 24 hours, following which the toll rose to 977, it reported.
There are 1,926 active cases in the state at present.
Of the new cases, 85 were detected in Ranchi, 28 in Dhanbad and 22 in East Singhbhum.
Just In: 36,594 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, nearly 3% higher than yesterday; 95.71 lakh total cases, 1,39,188 deaths
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Telangana adds 631 new cases, 2 deaths in a day
Telangana reported 631 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to over 2.72 lakh while two fatalities pushed the toll to 1,467, the state government said on Friday.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 109, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri (57) and Rangareddy (49), it said in a bulletin, providing details as of 8 PM on December 3.
As many as8,826 patients are under treatment and 57,405 samples were tested on Thursday.
Worldwide COVID-19 cases surpass 65 million-mark
The worldwide number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has surpassed 65 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University's data.
The number of coronavirus cases stood at 65,048,192 on Friday. Besides, over 1.5 million people have died of the virus.
The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11. The highest number of cases so far have been registered in the United States, India, and Brazil.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Assam reports 165 fresh COVID-19 cases, 2 more deaths
Assam's COVID-19 death count increased to 985 with two more persons dying due to the
disease on Thursday, while 165 new cases took the tally to 2,13,336, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
He said that 177 patients were cured of the infection during the day, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,08,843. The recovery rate in the state is currently 97.89 per cent.
The number of active cases at present is 3,505 while three patients had migrated out of the state.
On Thursday, India recorded 35,551 new COVID-19 infections, taking the country's coronavirus case tally to 95.3 lakh, the government data shows. Up to 526 people also lost their lives to the highly viral disease in this period. With this, a total of 1,38,648 people have lost their lives to Covid till now. Total active cases, or those receiving treatment for COVID-19, stood at 4,22,943, down nearly 5,700 in the last 24 hours.
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