Coronavirus cases in India: India has logged over 95 lakh cases so far.
Experts are hopeful a vaccine for coronavirus is likely to be ready within the next few weeks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said last evening, adding that three different vaccine candidates are in different stages of trials.
Earlier this week, the United Kingdom became the first western country to clear the Pfizer vaccine. However, the US pharma firm had not applied for trials in India, sources had said.
"India is one of the few countries where the testing and recovery rates are very high and the mortality rate is very low. Compared to developed countries, India has fought against COVID much better and has managed to save a lot of lives," PM Modi said.
Here are the LIVE updates on India Coronavirus Cases:
Covid Vaccine Should Be Given Free To Everyone, Says NCP's Nawab Malik
NCP leader Nawab Malik has said that COVID-19 vaccine should be given free to every citizen of the country. Speaking to ANI, Mr Malik said, "The Prime Minister held an all-party meeting and now they are saying State and Centre will decide the price, how can it be? In Bihar, they have given the assurance that vaccination will be free. We demand vaccine should be given to each Indian free of cost."
Britain's Queen Elizabeth To Get Covid-19 Vaccine "In Weeks": Reports
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will receive the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine within weeks, after UK regulators granted emergency approval and the world's first roll-out begins next week, reports late Saturday said.
The monarch, 94, and her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip are in line to get the jab early due to their age and will not receive preferential treatment, the Mail on Sunday reported.
The newspaper said Britain's most senior royals would reveal they have been given the inoculation "to encourage more people to take up the vital jab", amid fears so-called anti-vaxxers could dent enthusiasm for it.
Delhi records 5,475 Cases Take Count To 5.51 Lakh
The national capital recorded 3,419 new COVID-19 cases with over 80,000 tests being conducted for the second day, even as the positivity rate further dipped to 4.2 per cent, authorities said.
The positivity rate on Thursday and Friday was 4.96 per cent and 4.78 per cent respectively.
These fresh cases came out of a record 81,473 tests conducted the previous day, including 35,352 RT-PCR tests, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.
Coronavirus Update: Action Against Owner If Over 100 People Gather At Wedding Venue
The owner of the wedding hall or garden will have to ensure that entry to the venue is closed once 100 people gather, said Rajasthan Government.
"The owner of the wedding hall/garden will have to ensure that entry to the venue is closed once 100 people gather there," the Rajasthan government said in a statement.
COVID Latest Updates: Assam reports 157 new cases, 163 recoveries today
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launches app to locate free COVID test centres
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday launched a mobile application that gives users the locations of free COVID test centres within a radius of five kilometres in the state.
Launching the 'Mera Covid Kendra' app, he said it was an initiative of the state government to help people who want to get themselves tested for the virus.
Stressing that the state government has been making efforts at every level to check the spread of COVID-19, he said all districts of Uttar Pradesh have free testing facilities, and rates have been fixed for tests done in private labs.
Coronavirus Latest News: 1,325 new cases, 12 deaths in Karnataka today
Karnataka on Saturday reported 1,325 new cases of COVID and 12 related deaths, taking the total number of infections to 8,91,685 and the death count to 11,846, as it tested over a lakh samples, PTI reported.
A total of over 1,16,13,924 samples have been tested so far, out of which 1,04,032 were tested today alone, and 18,367 among them were rapid antigen tests.
The day also saw 1,400 patients getting discharged after recovery.
Uttar Pradesh becomes first state to conduct over 2 crore COVID tests
Uttar Pradesh has become the first state to have tested more than two crore samples for COVID-19, PTI reported quoting Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Amit Mohan Prasad on Saturday.
"No state has conducted so many tests so far. Yesterday, 1,66,938 samples were tested whereas a total of 21,028,312 samples have been tested so far across the state," Mr Prasad said.
COVID Latest News: 166 new cases, 210 recoveries and 4 deaths in Manipur today
Manipur reported 166 new COVID cases, 210 recoveries and 4 deaths today, taking total cases to 25,857, including 22,655 recoveries, 299 deaths and 2,903 active cases, ANI reported quoting state health department.
Coronavirus Latest News: Tamil Nadu reports 1,366 fresh cases, 1,407 discharges, and 15 deaths in the last 24 hours
COVID Latest Updates: Punjab reports 644 new cases, 671 discharges, and 23 deaths today
Punjab reported 644 new cases, 671 discharges, and 23 deaths today, ANI reported quoting the state government. Total cases in the state rose to 1,55,424, including 1,42,792 recoveries and 4,905 deaths. Active cases stand at 7,727.
Coronavirus Latest News: Delhi reports 3,419 new cases, 4,916 recoveries and 77 deaths today
Coronavirus Latest Updates: Rajasthan reports 2,076 new cases, 3,198 recoveries and 20 deaths today
COVID Latest News: Andhra Pradesh reports 630 fresh cases, 882 recoveries and 4 deaths today
Andhra Pradesh reported 630 new COVID cases, 882 recoveries and 4 deaths today, according to ANI. With this, the total caseload is at 8,71,305, while total recoveries stands at 8,58,115. There were 7,024 number of deaths and 6,166 active cases.
Coronavirus Latest Updates: 43 new cases detected in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar
43 new cases of COVID-19 were detected in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, pushing the number of active cases here to 502, PTI reported.
The official said 49 more patients have recovered, taking the total number of recoveries in the district to 6,583.
Coronavirus Latest News: Jammu and Kashmir reports 501 new cases, 12 deaths today
Jammu and Kashmir reported 501 new COVID cases, 469 recoveries and 12 deaths today, according to ANI. The total number of cases stood at 1,12,757, while there were 1,06,006 total recoveries. There were 1,742 number of deaths and 5,009 active cases.
COVID Updates: Uttarakhand reports 680 new cases, 457 recoveries and 8 deaths today
Coronavirus Latest News: Nearly 100 police personnel test positive in a special drive in Ahmedabad
Nearly 100 police personnel have tested positive for coronavirus in a special drive in Ahmedabad in the last four days, PTI reported quoting a senior officer on Saturday.
Among the infected police personnel, two constables have been hospitalized, while others are in home isolation, senior police officer Ajay Chaudhary said.
"We started a drive from Tuesday (December 1) to test all 14,000 police personnel in Ahmedabad. Nearly, 1,000 police personnel are being tested every day. About 100 personnel have tested positive for the virus so far," Mr Chaudhary said, adding that this is the second drive to test the police personnel in the city.
Ahmedabad district's COVID caseload stood at 51,392 on December 4, while the number of deaths went up to 2,100, the health department said.
COVID Latest Updates: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister directs officials to increase storage capacity for vaccines
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday directed officials to increase storage capacity for coronavirus vaccines, when they become available, PTI reported.
At a meeting at his official residence, he directed officials to increase the cold storage capacity to 2.3 lakh litres by December 15, according to an official statement.
He also said that cold chain facilities would be arranged at each districts and divisions.
"All security arrangements should be made to ensure its availability. The safety of the vaccine storage spots should be ensured in the same manner as that of the electronic voting machines," the chief minister said.
COVID Latest News: No new cases reported in Mizoram over the last 24 hours
Coronavirus LIVE News: Mumbai's test positivity rate falls to 5% for the first time since March
Mumbai's coronavirus test positivity rate has fallen to five per cent for the first time since March, PTI reported quoting municipal commissioner IS Chahal.
When the virus outbreak began, this rate was 35 to 36 per cent, he said.
"COVID test positivity for the last ten days looks promising but we should not be complacent and should not lower our guard," the commissioner warned.
On December 4, as many as 16,394 tests were conducted in the city, of which 825 or 5.03 per cent came out positive, he said.
The test positivity rate was 6.69 per cent on November 25, the commissioner noted.
COVID Latest Updates: Hyderabad, Delhi airports get ready for vaccine distribution
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that a COVID vaccine could be ready within weeks, Delhi and Hyderabad airports' air cargo services are all set to play a pivotal role in its distribution, PTI reported.
According to the Delhi airport, it has two cargo terminals with world-class infrastructure that provides a GDP (Good Distribution Practice)-certified temperature-controlled facility for handling temperature-sensitive cargo. The airport facility has state-of-the-art temperature-controlled zones with separate cool chambers too.
Meanwhile, GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC), located at the centre of one of the vaccine production regions in the country, is also a key stakeholder in the global vaccine logistics with facilities such as modern temperature-sensitive pharma and vaccine storage and processing zones.
Coronavirus Latest News: 573 new cases in bihar, total active cases rises to 6,145
573 fresh COVID cases were reported in Bihar, taking the total count of active cases in the state to 6,145, ANI reported quoting health department.
A petition has been moved in Supreme Court, seeking directions for refund of the exorbitant amount charged for RT-PCR Covid test by private labs and hospitals, and fix it to Rs 400, news agency ANI has reported
India Coronavirus Updates: Haryana Health Minister Tests Covid+ Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij, who had participated in the trial of Covid vaccine recently, has tested positive for coronavirus, he tweeted this morning. Read
here In Delhi, the coronavirus situation has started to see considerable improvement. There were 28,252 active COVID-19 cases on Saturday. The national capital has reported 5,48,376 recoveries and 9,497 death till Saturday morning, said the Union Health Ministry.
Last time, the single-day spike in cases passed 50,000-mark was on November 7, according to the official data.
While Maharashtra logged 5,229 fresh infections in a day, Kerala recorded 5,718 new cases in the last 24 hours, the government data shows. These two states recorded the most number of cases in a day.
Coronavirus: 36,652 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, marginally higher than yesterday; 96.08 lakh total cases, 1,39,700 deaths36,652 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, marginally higher than yesterday; 96.08 lakh total cases, 1,39,700 deaths" itemprop="description
India Coronavirus Updates: States That Have Logged Highest Number Of Cases
With over 18 lakh cases, Maharashtra has logged the highest number of Covid infections so far, followed by Karnataka (over 8.8 lakh cases), Andhra Pradesh (8.7 lakh cases), Tamil Nadu (over 7.8 lakh cases) and Kerala (6.2 lakh cases).
US Sees New Record In Single-Day Spike In Covid Cases
The United States on Friday saw a new record in rise in Covid cases in a single-day with over 225,000 new infections in an hour, news agency AFP reported, quoting the Johns Hopkins University. The US is the country with the most number of Covid cases in the world (1.41 crore), followed by India (95.71 lakh).
India Covid Update: India May Get Vaccine In Next Few Weeks, Experts Hopeful- PM Modi
If Salons Can Run, Why Not Spas: Delhi High Court Asks AAP Government
The Delhi High Court on Fridayt asked the AAP government to re-look its decision prohibiting the operation of spas in the national capital.
The query was posed to the Delhi government by Justice Navin Chawla who said prima facie there is a merit in the submission of the spa owners that if salons are allowed to operate, then they too should be permitted to function.
India Coronavirus Updates: Active Cases Fall Below 4.2 Lakh, Says Health Ministry
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.
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