Latest News LIVE: India's Covid death count increased to 1,52,718. (File)
The UK coronavirus strain has been detected in at least 60 countries, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, 10 more than a week ago.
With the global death count now well past two million, and new variants of the virus causing deep concern, countries across the world are grappling with how to slow infections until vaccines become widely available.
The South African strain, which like the UK one is believed to be more infectious, has now been reported in 23 countries and territories, the WHO also announced in its weekly update.
With 13,823 infections reported in a day, India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,05,95,660, while the recoveries surged to 1,02,45,741, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday. The death count due to the disease increased to 1,52,718 in the country as 162 new fatalities were recorded, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today slammed critics of an expert panel - formed last week to resolve the farmers-centre deadlock over the three contentious agricultural laws - and said the committee has no power to decide on the legislations. "We gave (the committee the) power to hear everyone and submit report to us. Where is the question of bias? (There is) no need to brand people and malign them, and on top of it cast aspersion on (the) court," Chief Justice SA Bobde said today.
The top court also asked the government to respond to a petition seeking reconstitution of its committee. Last week, the top court had paused the implementation of the laws as thousands of farmers continue to camp near Delhi borders, demanding repeal of the legislations.
Here are the LIVE updates:
68% of targeted recipients get COVID-19 vaccines in Maharashtra
On the third day of the COVID-19 inoculation drive in Maharashtra, 18,166 healthcare workers or 68 per cent of the targeted beneficiaries for the day were administered vaccine doses on Wednesday, an official release said.
On Tuesday, 14,883 healthcare staffers, or 52.68 of the targeted beneficiaries for the day, were administered COVID-19 vaccine doses across 274 centres.
With this,the total of 51,650 healthcare workers have received the first dose of vaccines since the drive began on January 16, barring Sunday and Monday when the exercise remained suspended, it said.
"18,166 healthcare workers (68 per cent of the intended beneficiaries for the day)received the first dose of vaccine at 267 centres across the state till 7 PM today. The final percentage can change since the vaccination went on after 7 PM at few centres," it said
Coronavirus News updates: 1,40,000 doses of Covishield received for Indore-Ujjain division
The second batch of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield with 1,40,000 doses have been received for the Indore-Ujjain division of Madhya Pradesh, an official said on Wednesday.
Ashok Dagaria, Joint Director Health, Indore said: "Of the 1,40,000 doses, 89,000 doses are to be kept for 8 districts of Indore division and remaining 51,000 doses of vaccines will be sent to 7 districts of Ujjain division."
Amit Malakar, Nodal Officer of Indore said, "A total of 27,000 doses have been provided to the district health administration."
Earlier, 1,52,000 doses of Covishield were received for the Indore Ujjain division of which 33,490 doses were given to the Indore district.
According to officials, a total of 1300 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the last three days.
In Indore, five hospitals have been designated for vaccination drive. These include government hospitals--MY Hospital, and ESIC Hospital while private hospitals include Sri Aurobindo Hospital, Raj Shree Apollo Hospital and Bombay Hospital.
Sikkim reports 5 new COVID-19 cases
Sikkim reported five new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the tally to 6,057, an official said. All five cases were detected in the East Sikkim district, he said. Sikkim has 160 active cases at present, while 5,671 patients have recovered from the disease and 131 persons died.
The state tested 277 samples for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. A total of 573 persons, all health workers, have received COVID-19 vaccines so far, the official said. The second consignment of 1,400 vials of Covishield vaccine arrived in the state during the day.
COVID: 28 new cases in Chandigarh
Chandigarh on Wednesday reported 28 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the infection count to 20,623, according to a medical bulletin.
No death was reported on Wednesday and the toll stands at 330, as per the bulletin. There are 171 active cases as of now, it stated.
A total of 42 patients were discharged after they recovered from the infection, taking the number of cured people to 20,122, it added.
Qatar reports 271 new COVID-19 cases, 148,000 in total
The Qatari health ministry on Wednesday announced 271 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 148,000, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported. 132 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 144,350, while the fatalities remained 248 for the third day running, according to a ministry statement quoted by QNA.
A total of 1,333,825 people in Qatar have taken lab tests for COVID-19 so far.
549 New COVID-19 Cases, 9 More Cases In Tamil NaduTamil Nadu logged 549 new COVID-19 cases and nine more fatalities on Wednesday, taking the total infection count to 8,32,415 and the toll to 12,290, the health department said.
Recoveries continued to outnumber the new infections with 713 people getting discharged, as the total number of those cured so far rose to 8,14,811, a bulletin said.
The number of active cases continued its decline and stood at 5,314.
Coronavirus Updates: Primary classes to reopen at Punjab schools from Jan 27The Punjab government has decided to reopen primary classes at all schools from January 27, a minister said on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the state government had reopened schools for Classes 5 to 12.
"Following persistent demand of parents, the state government has decided to reopen all schools for primary classes from January 27," Education minister Vijay Inder Singla in a statement
Delhi grants COVID relief assistance to over 400 labourersThe Delhi government has granted COVID-19 relief assistance of Rs 10,000 each to 407 construction workers, according to a statement on Wednesday.
"We urge all the construction workers to get registered with the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board so that they receive all due benefits," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.
More than 2,000 construction workers will also receive the relief amount in the coming weeks, the statement said.
The Delhi government was one of the first to grant relief disbursement to all the 39,600 workers who were registered with board in March, according to the statement.
490 new COVID-19 cases in Gujarat; 707 recover, two dieWith the addition of 490 coronavirus positive cases on Wednesday, Gujarat's infection count increased to 2,57,342, the state health department said. As the virus claimed the lives of two patients, the death count went up to 4,371, it said.
Centre Ready To Pause Agri Laws, Farmers' Unions Say Will Consider OfferThe government ready to put farm laws on freeze for ne-and-half years and will convey it to the Supreme Court in an affidavit, sources told NDTV. The farmer unions, sources said, will consider the proposal.
The Supreme Court, in a hearing last week, had ordered a freeze on farm laws that is expected to last for two months while a special committee discusses the issue with all sides.
The decision came after nine round of meeting remained inconclusive.
Government's 10th round of talks with protesting farmer union ends; next meeting on January 22 at 12 noon, news agency PTI reported.
Bird Flu Outbreak Latest News: Punjab Reports First Bird Flu Case As Samples From Dead Goose Test PositivePunjab has reported its first case of avian influenza with samples taken from a dead bar-headed goose testing positive for the flu's H5N1 strain, forest and wildlife preservation department officials said on Wednesday.
The goose was found dead near the Siswan Dam reservoir in Mohali and its samples were sent to the Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NRDDL) in Jalandhar for testing on January 8, they said.
The samples were then sent to the Bhopal-based Institute of High Security Animal Diseases testing after the NRDDL found it to be a suspected case of bird flu, the officials said.
Nasal COVID-19 Vaccine Will Be Easy To Give To Children: AIIMS DirectorA nasal COVID-19 vaccine will be easy to be give to school-going children who bear a "very mild" load of the disease but they are infectious, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria said on Wednesday.
The noted pulmonologist, who was interacting with the personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) during their 16th Raising Day celebrations here, also said that people who have contracted coronavirus should also get the jab about 4-6 weeks after recovery.
"It (coronavirus infection) is very mild in children but they are infectious. They can spread the disease."
"The vaccines that have come are not approved for children because there have been no studies conducted on children but this (vaccination) is a very important step and trials are being done," he said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Vaccines Sent By India Reach Bhutan And MaldivesBhutan and Maldives on Wednesday became the first two countries to receive COVID-19 vaccines sent by India in sync with its "neighbourhood first" policy.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar shared on Twitter photos of the consignments reaching the two countries.
On Tuesday, India had said it would send COVID-19 vaccines under grant assistance to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles from Wednesday.
The supplies to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius will commence after confirmation of necessary regulatory clearances.
It is learnt that 1,50,000 doses of Covisheild vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), were sent to Bhutan and 1,00,000 doses reached Maldives as part of India's grant assistance.
"Indian vaccines reach Maldives, reflects our special friendship," Mr Jaishankar tweeted along with a photograph of the consignments.
"#VaccineMaitri begins. Consignment arrives in Bhutan. Another example of #NeighbourhoodFirst," he said in another tweet.
Joe Biden To End Trump's 'Muslim Travel Ban', Halt Border Wall On Day 1US President-elect Joe Biden plans to kick off his new administration Wednesday with orders to restore the United States to the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization, aides said.
Biden will sign 17 orders and actions hours after being sworn in as US leader to break from policies of departing President Donald Trump and set new paths on immigration, the environment, fighting Covid-19 and the economy, they said.
In first-day moves, he will end Trump's much-assailed ban on visitors from several majority-Muslim countries and halt construction of the wall that Trump ordered on the US-Mexico border to stem illegal immigration.
Coronavirus Latest News: Pfizer Vaccine Likely To Protect Against UK Covid Variant, Shows StudyThe COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is likely to protect against a more infectious variant of the virus, which was discovered in Britain and has spread around the world, according to results of further lab tests released on Wednesday.
The encouraging results, based on an analysis of blood of participants in trials, are based on more extensive analysis than those released by the US drugmaker last week.
Last week, Pfizer said a similar laboratory study showed the vaccine was effective against one key mutation, called N501Y, found in both of the highly transmissible new variants spreading in Britain and South Africa.
Coronavirus Latest News: Beijing Records First UK Variant Cases: City Health OffcialsBeijing health officials on Wednesday said two cases of Covid-19 found in the capital were the highly-transmissible UK variant of the virus, as five neighbourhoods were locked down in the south of the city.
The cases in Daxing district were "considered to be variants of the new coronavirus discovered in the UK", the head of the Beijing health authority Pang Xinghuo told reporters.
"Formidable Competitors On Field, Solid Partners Off It": PM Modi To Australian PM After Test Win
India and Australia are formidable competitors on the field, and solid partners off it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today, replying to a congratulatory message by his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison on the Indian cricket team's Test series triumph Down Under.
The Indian team, led by Ajinkya Rahane, braved all odds to defeat a full-strength Australia by three wickets at the Gabba in Brisbane to win the four-Test series 2-1 and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Tuesday.
"Congratulations @narendramodi and the Indian Cricket Team on a great win in the test series here in Australia. It was a hard fought contest between the game's best teams and players," Prime Minister Morrison tweeted.
Farmers' Republic Day Tractor Rally: Centre Says Police Will DecideThe Supreme Court today said it will not pass orders on the planned tractor rally on Republic Day in New Delhi since it is the police that must decide on these matters. Thousands of farmers were scheduled to hold such a parade in the national capital in the event of the failure of talks with the Central government over the three new contentions agricultural laws. Following the top court's stand on the issue, the Union government said it will leave it for Delhi police to decide on the event.
The court was hearing a plea from the Central government asking it to order the farmers not to carry out the tractor rally amid the Republic Day celebrations. The court allowed the Centre to withdraw its plea and put the onus on Delhi Police.
"We see it as irregular and improper to allow or disallow any rally or procession. The norm is it is police matter. The police decides it. We are not going to pass the order," a Supreme Court bench said today.
Read Farm Laws Panel Has No Power To Decide, Where is Bias? Supreme Court
A panel formed to negotiate with farmers protesting near Delhi borders against the three contentious agricultural laws amid deadlock with centre has no power to decide, the Supreme Court said today. The top court also asked the government to respond to a petition seeking reconstitution of its committee.
Protesters and several opposition parties - including the Akali Dal - had raised objections saying the four members of the panel had earlier expressed views in favour of the controversial legislation
Trump Pardons 73 Including Ex-Aide Steve Bannon, Not Himself Or FamilyUS President Donald Trump granted clemency to former White House aide Steve Bannon as part of a wave of pardons and commutations issued in his final hours in office, but did not pardon himself, members of his family or lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Trump leaves office on Wednesday, when Joe Biden is sworn in as the nation's next president. White House officials had argued to Trump that he should not pardon himself or his family because it might look like they are guilty of crimes, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Bannon, who was a key adviser in Trump's 2016 presidential run, was charged last year with swindling the president's own supporters over an effort to raise private funds to build the president's wall on the US-Mexico border. He has pleaded not guilty.
Read Farmers' tractor rally: Supreme Court says not for it to pass orders, leaves it to police to decide
Supreme Court today said that it will leave the decision of allowing or barring farmers' tractor rally on January 26 to administration.
13 Dead, 18 Injured In Road Accident In West Bengal's Jalpaiguri
At least 13 people died in an accident in Dhupguri city of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal on Tuesday night. The accident happened due to low visibility. Around 18 people have been injured in the accident and have been admitted to a hospital.
"A vehicle collided head-on with a boulder loaded truck whose driver lost control of the vehicle and hit the divider and slipped towards its right side. Two other vehicles coming from the wrong side collided into the body of the truck due to which boulders loaded in the vehicle fell on them. Another small lorry in front of the truck was also damaged. In all, four vehicles got damaged," Sumant Roy, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Jalpaiguri said.
The police officer said that the circle inspector of Dhupguri and his team reached the accident spot within 10 minutes of the incident. Sumant Roy said that several cranes were called in to clear the road.
Jack Ma, Missing For Months, Emerges for First Time Since China CrackdownAlibaba and Ant co-founder Jack Ma has resurfaced after months out of public view, quashing intense speculation about the plight of the billionaire grappling with escalating scrutiny over his internet empire.
China's most recognizable entrepreneur addressed scores of teachers on an online conference Wednesday, part of an annual event the billionaire hosts to recognize the achievements of rural educators. His appearance, first reported in a local blog, was confirmed by people familiar with the matter.
Read 13,823 Fresh COVID-19 Cases In India, 37.3% Higher Than Yesterday
India ha reported 13,823 fresh COVID-19 cases, 37.3% higher than yesterday; 1.05 crore total cases, 1,52,718 deaths: Health Ministry
Gujarat To Rename Dragon Fruit As "Kamalam"
The dragon fruit will be known as "Kamalam" in Gujarat as the original name "is associated with China", Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Tuesday.
"The State government has decided to rename Dragon Fruit. As the outer shape of the fruit resembles a lotus, hence Dragon Fruit shall be renamed as Kamalam," the Chief Minister was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
"The name of dragon fruit associated with China and we have changed it," he added.
"Kamalam" is Sanskrit for the Lotus. It is also the name of the BJP office in Gujarat.
Over the past few years, Dragon Fruit has become a popular addition to the diet in the state and is grown mainly in Bhuj, Gandhidham and Mandvi.
Ivanka Trump's Farewell Message Has A Good Word For Joe BidenUS President Donald Trump's daughter and advisor Ivanka Trump shared a farewell message today saying Americans must pray for the Joe Biden administration's success as the family vacates the White House. The message comes close in heels to her father's message where he wished success to the new administration for the first time.
In a statement shared on Twitter, she wished luck to Joe Biden and his number 2 Kamala Harris and their spouses and staff by saying, "May God give wisdom, courage and strength" to them.
"As Americans we must all pray for their success," Ms Trump said.
Read Maldives, Nepal Among 6 Nations To Get Vaccines From India From Today
India, one of the world's leading drugmakers, on Tuesday said it will provide COVID-19 vaccines under grant assistance to Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles from Wednesday, and that shipments will be sent to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius as well on receipt of necessary regulatory clearances.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is deeply honoured to be a "long-trusted" partner in meeting the healthcare needs of the global community and that supplies of the vaccines to several countries will commence on Wednesday, and more will follow in the days ahead.
India is one of the world's biggest drugmakers, and an increasing number of countries have already approached it for procuring the coronavirus vaccines.
Trump, On Last Day In Office , Says "Pray" For Joe Biden's SuccessAn emotional President-elect Joe Biden flew to Washington Tuesday on the eve of his inauguration, as his predecessor Donald Trump -- who will snub Biden's swearing-in -- for the first time wished success to the new administration.
Tears rolled down Biden's cheeks at a farewell ceremony in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, where he paid tribute to his late son and rising politician Beau, before catching a plane to the capital.
"Excuse the emotion, but when I die, Delaware will be written on my heart," Biden said. "I only have one regret, that he's not here, because we should be introducing him as president."
Trump, who has not appeared in public for a week, broke days of silence with a videoed farewell address which the White House said would be released later in the day.
France registers 23,608 new COVID-19 cases, 656 deaths
France registered 23,608 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its accumulative total since the outbreak of the epidemic to 2,938,333, data from the health authorities showed on Tuesday.
Now France has recorded the world's sixth-highest tally of COVID-19 cases after the United States, India, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom.
In one day, the respiratory illness had claimed 369 lives in hospitals and 287 in nursing homes. The combined number of fatalities caused by the coronavirus so far in the country stood at 71,342, according to figures posted on the government data website.
Admissions to hospital fell by 52 to 25,567 while those in intensive care units increased by 26 to 2,839.