Latest News Today: The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh. (File)
India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,05,27,683 with 15,590 people testing positive for the infection in a day, while the recoveries have surged to 1,01,62,738, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
The country's deaths increased to 1,51,918 with 191 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,01,62,738 pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.53 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.44 per cent. The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh.
Meanwhile, the Centre has circulated the dos and don'ts for vaccination to the states on Thursday. The rollout on Saturday is expected to cover 3 lakh healthcare workers across 3,006 sites across the country. Interchangeability of COVID-19 vaccines is not permitted and pregnant and lactating women should not be administered the shots as they have not been part of any anti-coronavirus vaccine clinical trial so far, the Health Ministry said.
In a letter to all states and Union territories, the ministry highlighted that under the emergency use authorisation, coronavirus vaccination is indicated only for 18 years and above. If required, COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines should be separated by an interval of at least 14 days.
"Interchangeability of COVID-19 vaccines is not permitted. Second dose should also be of the same COVID-19 vaccine which was administered as the first dose," the letter written by Manohar Agnani, Additional Secretary, Union health ministry said.
The ministry has listed precautions and contraindications for COVID-19 vaccination along with a comparative factsheet for both the vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) which contains information on vaccine platform, physical specifications, dosage, cold-chain storage requirements, contraindications and minor AEFIs (adverse event following immunization).
Here are the LIVE updates:
Coronavirus news: Joe Biden Unveils Plan To Speed US COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
US President-elect Joe Biden on Friday said he would order increased production of syringes and other supplies to ramp up vaccinations against COVID-19 and improve upon the Trump administration rollout that he called a "dismal failure."
Under Biden's plan, federal disaster-relief workers would set up thousands of vaccination centers, where retired doctors would administer shots to teachers, grocery store workers, people over 65 years old and other groups who do not currently qualify.
The Democrat would invoke the Defense Production Act to increase production of equipment needed to distribute the vaccines, such as glass vials, needles and syringes, according to a document released by his transition team. He would also use the law to support vaccine refrigeration and storage.
Coronavirus news: Andhra Pradesh receives 4.7 lakh doses of Covishield, 20,000 of Covaxin
Andhra Pradesh has received 4.7 lakh doses of Covishield and 20,000 doses of Covaxin for the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination drive.
The vaccination drive against COVID-19 will begin on Saturday all over the country.
A state government release said that 332 locations have been identified for the launch of the drive in Andhra Pradesh.
Coronavirus news: 535 new coronavirus cases, three deaths in GujaratGujarat recorded 535 fresh coronavirus cases and only three deaths in the last 24 hours, a state health official said on Friday evening.
The caseload thus went upto 2,54,849 while the death toll in Gujarat due to COVID-19 now stands at 4,360.
As many as 738 coronavirus patients were given discharge from different hospitals.
With 2,43,639 recoveries so far, Gujarat's rate of recovery has gone up to 95.60 per cent, said the official release.
During the day, one patient each died in Ahmedabad city, Rajkot district and Surat city. Of 6,850 active cases in the state, 55 patients are on ventilator.
WhatsApp Delays Data Sharing Change After BacklashWhatsApp on Friday delayed a data-sharing change as users worried about privacy fled the Facebook-owned messaging service and flocked to rivals Telegram and Signal.
"We're now moving back the date on which people will be asked to review and accept the terms," WhatsApp said in a blog post.
COVID-19: Total Deaths Pass 2 Million WorldwideTotal confirmed deaths from Covid-19 around the world passed two million on Friday, according to a count by AFP.
As of 1825 GMT on Friday, 2,000,066 people have died of the virus since it first emerged in China in late 2019, according to the count based on official figures provided by authorities.
The grim milestone comes as countries around the globe battle rising infections, despite the gradual rollout of vaccination campaigns.
Norway Warns of Vaccination Risks For Sick Elderly Patients After 23 DieNorway said Covid-19 vaccines may be too risky for the very old and terminally ill, the most cautious statement yet from a European health authority as countries assess the real-world side effects of the first shots to gain approval.
Norwegian officials said 23 people had died in the country a short time after receiving their first dose of the vaccine. Of those deaths, 13 have been autopsied, with the results suggesting that common side effects may have contributed to severe reactions in frail, elderly people, according to the Norwegian Medicines Agency.
Coronavirus Updates: Mizoram Schools To Restart On January 22, Churches To Reopen In FebruaryMizoram has decided to allow reopening of schools for classes 10 and 12 from January 22, and places of worship from February, officials said on Friday.
Mizoram, a Christian-majority state, decided to reopen places of worship with limited attendees as the COVID-19 situation improved, they said.
The decisions were taken at a meeting among doctors, churches and civil society groups. Health minister R Lalthangliana presided over the meeting.
The churches would be opened for services every Saturday at noon for Sabbath followers, and on Sundays for other denominations.
However, only 200 attendees or 50 per cent of sitting capacity, whichever is less, will be allowed as per the existing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), officials said.
Church services would not be held on other days.
In Mizoram, normally services are held thrice on Sabbaths (Saturday) and Sundays.
Integrated Medicine Approach Shortens Covid Patients' Stay In Hospital: StudyAn integrated medicine approach in treating Coronavirus patients not only shortened their stay in hospital but also helped the infected recover faster, revealed a study by Siddha doctors initiated when the pandemic was at the peak in Tamil Nadu.
The overall median length of stay was 12 days for those who were administered zinc, vitamin c tablets, as advised by the state government and Kabasura Kudineer, a Siddha polyherbal formulation, which was advised by the union Ayush ministry, claims a survival analysis study.
The study was to assess the length of stay of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients under Integrated Medicine - Zinc, Vitamin C and Kabasura Kudineer, carried out by the team of government Siddha doctors at the Government Medical College and ESI Hospital Coimbatore.
According to Dr Sathya Rajeswaran, Director in-charge, Siddha Central Research Institute, Chennai, the data was collected from confirmed COVID-19 cases admitted in GMC & ESI Hospital Coimbatore.
Gujarat: 535 New Coronavirus Cases, Three DeathsGujarat recorded 535 fresh coronavirus cases and only three deaths in the last 24 hours, a state health official said on Friday evening.
The caseload thus went upto 2,54,849 while the death count in Gujarat due to COVID-19 now stands at 4,360.
As many as 738 coronavirus patients were given discharge from different hospitals.
While the government has stopped disclosing the daily test figure, as many as 1,01,01,064 persons have been tested so far.
Gujarat COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 2,54,849, new cases 535, death toll 4,360, discharged 2,43,639, active cases 6,850 and people tested so far 1,01,01,064.
Coronavirus Latest News: For Los Angeles-Area Ambulance, The COVID-19 Call Never StopFor Southern California ambulance crews, the shifts feel never-ending and the calls to pick up COVID-19 patients seem endless.
"In 30 years, I've never seen a call volume like this," said Eileen Cegarra, 56, an ambulance dispatch center supervisor for Care Ambulance Service, one of the largest ambulance companies in the Los Angeles area, which has become the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic.
California hospitals have grown so full of COVID-19 patients that state officials ordered hospitals to delay non-life-threatening surgeries, preserving space for serious cancer removal and necessary heart operations.
Outside many Southern California hospitals, ambulances loaded with COVID-19 patients wait for hours until space becomes available in the intensive care unit (ICU) or emergency room (ER).
Beside affecting the patients, the backlog has taken its toll on the ambulance crews who respond to calls for the sick.
"The calls don't stop just because the crews are in the ER," Cegarra said.
Jennifer Mueller, 30, works 24-hour shifts as a Care emergency medical technician, saying the pandemic has taken a physical and emotional toll on those in her profession.
Maharashtra reports 3,145 new COVID-19 cases, tally increases to 19,84,768; death count reaches 50,336 with 45 fatalities, news agency PTI reported quoting health official
India's COVID-19 Case Count Of UK Coronavirus Strain Rises To 114As India prepares to launch its coronavirus vaccination tomorrow, the total number of COVID-19 patients found infected with the new strain of coronavirus first detected in the United Kingdom (UK) has risen to 114, the Health Ministry said on Friday.
Five cases of the new strain - believed to be more infectious - were detected in the last 24 hours, the data shows. Till yesterday, this number was 109.
All the patients are recovering in single-room government quarantine centres, and their close contacts have also been quarantined. Genome sequencing to ascertain the strain of infection is going on for other samples, the ministry said, adding the situation is under careful watch.
Covid Latest News: Pfizer Temporarily Reduces Vaccine Deliveries To EuropePfizer will temporarily reduce its deliveries to Europe of its vaccine against COVID-19 while it upgrades its production capacity, the company and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) said on Friday.
"We received this message today a little before 10am (0900 GMT). We had expected 43,875 vaccines doses from Pfizer in week 3 (next week). Now it appears that we will get 36,075 doses," the FHI said in a statement.
The reduction in deliveries is due to Pfizer limiting output so that it can upgrade production capacity to 2 billion vaccine doses per year from 1.3 billion currently, the FHI said.
"This temporary reduction will affect all European countries," said the FHI. "It is as yet not precisely clear how long time it will take before Pfizer is up to maximum production capacity again."
Pfizer said it had to make modifications to the process and facility that will require additional regulatory approvals.
"Although this will temporarily impact shipments in late January to early February, it will provide a significant increase in doses available for patients in late February and March," Pfizer said in a statement.
COVID-19 LIVE Updates: Delhi Records 295 Fresh Cases, Positivity Rate Dips To 0.44 Per CentDelhi on Friday recorded 295 fresh COVID-19 infections, the lowest in more than eight months, which pushed the caseload to 6,31,884 while the positivity rate slipped to 0.44 per cent, authorities said.
The national capital had recorded 293 cases on April 26, according to official data.
The death count mounted to 10,732 with 10 new fatalities, the authorities said.
The number of active cases in the national capital came down to 2,795 from 2,937 the previous day. The positivity rate dropped to 0.44 per cent.
The 295 fresh cases came out of 66,921 tests conducted the previous day, including 38,990 RT-PCR tests and 27,931 rapid antigen tests, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.
Arvind Kejriwal To Visit LNJP Hospital To Inspect Delhi Vaccination DriveIndia is all geared up for the mass coronavirus vaccination drive that begins Saturday. The rollout tomorrow is expected to cover 3 lakh healthcare workers across 3,006 sites across the country.
In Delhi, coronavirus vaccines will administered from 81 centres including six central government facilities. The healthcare workers, who have been at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic, will be the ones to receives the shots first.
The inoculation drive will begin from the state-run LNJP Hospital with a simple ceremony. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will visit the hospital at around noon to inspect the vaccination drive of the Delhi government.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Himachal Schools To Partially Open From February The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to partially open schools from next month by strictly following standard operating procedures in view of the coronavirus pandemic, an minister said on Friday.
Classes 5 and 8-12 in schools in the plains that have summer vacations will open from February 1, while those in the hilly areas having longer winter vacations will start February 15, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Bhardwaj said.
Industrial training institutes, and polytechnic and engineering colleges will also open from February 1. The decision to reopen these institutions was taken in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jairam Thakur after reviewing the current coronavirus situation in the state, Bhardwaj said.
The management of these institutions will ensure strict use of face masks, social distancing and use of sanitisers in their premises, he added.
Coronavirus Updates: Vaccine Drive To Be Held At 10 Centres In Maharashtra's AurangabadThe administration in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district is all set for the COVID-19 vaccination drive, which will take place at 10 centres in the region on January 16, a health official said on Friday.
As many as 100 healthcare workers will be inoculated at each of these 10 centres, the official said.
While four centres have been earmarked for Aurangabad rural in Vaijapur, Paithan and Sillod talukas, six are in Aurangabad city, including the Government Medical College, civil surgeon Dr Sundar Kulkarni said.
"As many as 100 healthcare workers will be inoculated at each centre from Saturday onwards," he said.
As on Thursday, Aurangabad's COVID-19 tally stood at 46,398, including 44,823 recoveries and 1,222 casualties.
The district currently has 353 active cases.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 3 Civil Defence Volunteers Arrested For Issuing Fake Covid ChallansThree civil defence volunteers have been arrested for allegedly issuing fake COVID-19 challans and collecting the penalty amount, police said on Friday.
The accused -- Sunny (19), Yashwant Rathi (21) and Lucky (20) -- were posted in the office of SDM (New Delhi) in Jamnagar House, they said.
They mostly issued fake challans to people visiting the Talkatora Garden, they said.
The matter came to notice on December 31, when a resident of Shakarpur was issued a fake challan by the accused for not wearing masks when he was sitting inside the Talkatora Garden with his friend, police said.
In his complaint, the victim alleged that the three volunteers came in Khakhi uniform and told him that they were posted in the office of SDM, New Delhi.
They told us that since we had violated COVID-19 guidelines by not wearing face masks, challans of Rs 2,000 each will be issued, the victim alleged, news agency PTI reported.
Coronavirus Latest News: India's New Covid Cases Per Million Population In Last 7 Days Among Lowest In World, Says Health Ministry India recorded 87 new COVID-19 cases per million population in the last seven days which is one of the lowest in the world when compared with countries like the US, the UK, Russia, Germany, Brazil, France and Italy, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday.
It further said that only one new death per million population was reported in India in this period.
"With a case fatality rate of 1.44 per cent, COVID-19 deaths per million population in India are one of the lowest in the world," the ministry underscored.
India's total COVID-19 active caseload continues to manifest a sustained downward movement and has dropped to 2.13 lakh comprising just 2.03 per cent of the country's total infections, it said.
WHO Team In China Will Start Meetings Online From Quarantine
A World Health Organization-led team investigating the origins of COVID-19 are to begin virtual meetings with their Chinese hosts from a hotel in China's Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged, on Friday. Their arrival at the city in central China on Thursday was disrupted by the absence of two members who failed coronovirus antibody tests in Singapore. One of the missing members has since passed a test and their travel to China is being arranged, according to China's foreign ministry.
WHO Team In China Will Start Meetings Online From Quarantine
A World Health Organization-led team investigating the origins of COVID-19 are to begin virtual meetings with their Chinese hosts from a hotel in China's Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged, on Friday. Their arrival at the city in central China on Thursday was disrupted by the absence of two members who failed coronovirus antibody tests in Singapore. One of the missing members has since passed a test and their travel to China is being arranged, according to China's foreign ministry.
Odisha Reports 186 New COVID-19 Cases
Odisha's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 3,32,949 on Friday as 186 more people tested positive for the infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,898, a health department official said. Of the new cases, 108 were reported from quarantine centres and 78 detected during contact tracing.
Gujarat To Launch COVID-19 Vaccination Drive From 161 Centres
The COVID-19 vaccination drive in Gujarat will start for healthcare workers from 161 centres when the nationwide inoculation campaign kicks off on January 16, said Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday.
Can Use Data For Vaccine Drive, Delete Later, Says Election Body: Report
The Election Commission will extend "full assistance" to the government in identifying targeted beneficiaries at the polling station level for the COVID-19 vaccination drive, but wants health authorities to delete the data once the inoculation exercise is over, sources privy to the development said on Friday.
China Allows Entry To WHO COVID-19 Probe Member After Negative Test
China said on Friday that it has arranged for the entry of one British expert from World Health Organization's (WHO) COVID-19 probe team after re-testing negative for the disease. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian was speaking at a regular news briefing without clarifying when the expert will arrive.
Exclusive Pics: Inside Serum Institute's Covishield Vaccine Facility
With the nationwide Covid vaccination drive set to begin tomorrow at 10:30 AM, we bring you exclusive pictures from inside the Serum Institute Facility.
See Pics Odisha Reports 186 New COVID-19 Cases, 2 More Deaths
Odisha's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 3,32,949 on Friday as 186 more people tested positive for the infection, while two fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,898, a health department official said. Of the new cases, 108 were reported from quarantine centres and 78 detected during contact tracing.
About 3 Lakh Healthcare Workers To Get Vaccine Shots On 1st Day Of COVID-19 Inoculation Drive
Around 3 lakh healthcare workers will be inoculated at 2,934 sites across the country on the first day of the massive nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive which is set to begin from January 16, official sources said. Each vaccination session will cater to a maximum of 100 beneficiaries and the Union Health Ministry has advised states not to organise "unreasonable numbers of vaccination per site per day". "States have been advised to organise vaccination sessions taking into account 10 per cent reserve/wastage doses and an average of 100 vaccinations per session each day.
Sanitary Workers To Receive Covid Vaccine In Karnataka's Kalaburagi In First Phase
Along with doctors and healthcare workers, sanitary workers will also be administered the COVID-19 vaccine in the first phase of the inoculation drive in Karnataka's Kalaburagi, informed City Corporation Commissioner, Snehal Lokhande on Friday. Speaking to ANI, Snehal Lokhande said, "During the COVID-19 pandemic, the sanitary workers of our Mahanagar Palika have worked very hard. They have done a good job in such a high-risk situation. They have collected garbage from hospitals and other households too."
Telangana Adds 202 New COVID-19 Cases
Telangana recorded 202 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the total positives to over 2.91 lakh while two fatalities pushed the toll to 1,574, the state government said on Friday. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 48, followed by Rangareddy and Warangal Urban with 15 and 13 respectively, it said in a bulletin, providing details as of 8 PM on January 14.
Puducherry Logs 28 New COVID-19 Cases, Overall Tally Rises To 38,595
The union territory of Puducherry recorded 28 fresh coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours taking the overall tally of infections to 38,595, a top Health department official said on Friday. No fresh fatality was reported from any of the four regions-Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam-, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release. The number of fatalities in the union territory remained at 640.
Germany's COVID-19 Cases Cross 2 Million
Germany's total coronavirus cases topped two million on Friday, as Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed for a "significant" tightening of restrictions to slow the infection rate. The European Union's most populous country added another 22,368 new cases over the past 24 hours, Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) health agency said, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 2,000,958.
COVID-19: India Records 15,590 Fresh Cases
India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,05,27,683 with 15,590 people testing positive for the infection in a day, while the recoveries have surged to 1,01,62,738, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
7 New COVID-19 Cases In Andamans; Tally At 4,976
The COVID-19 caseload in Andaman and Nicobar Islands mounted to 4,976 as seven more people have tested positive for the disease in the Union Territory, a health department official said on Friday. The fresh cases were detected during contact tracing, he said.
No fresh COVID-19 fatality in Jharkhand, tally rises to 1,17,384
Jharkhand has not reported any fresh COVID-19 fatality in the past 24 hours, even as 144 new cases pushed the tally to 1,17,384, a health department official said on Friday. The coronavirus deaths remained at 1,048 in the state.
"No fresh virus-related death was reported in the state for the third consecutive day on Thursday," the official said. The new infections include 77 from Ranchi district, East Singhbhum (27) and Dhanbad (9), he said.
Jharkhand now has 1,327 active coronavirus cases, while 1,15,009 people have recovered from the disease so far.
The state has tested 12,133 samples for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the official added.
"Can COVID-19 Vaccine Cause Infertility?": Health Minister Tackles Myths
Ahead of the COVID-19 vaccination drive that starts Saturday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan took to Twitter on Thursday, to dispel doubts about the vaccines. Posting a series of graphics on Twitter, the minister addressed fears like the vaccine causing infertility or spreading the coronavirus infection.
Read Here UK Bans Travel From South America Over Brazil Variant Fears
The United Kingdom is banning travel from the whole of South America and Portugal amid concerns over a new variant of the coronavirus in Brazil, authorities here announced. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that as of 4 am Friday, arrivals from more than a dozen countries, including Argentina, Chile and Peru, will be halted "following evidence of a new variant in Brazil." Outside South America, the Cape Verde islands off the west coast of Africa and Panama in Central America were also slapped with travel bans.
Ahead Of Covid Vaccine Rollout, Centre Sends Rulebook To States
Two days to go for the rollout of the Covid vaccines, the Centre circulated the dos and don'ts for vaccination to the states this evening. The rollout on Saturday is expected to cover 3 lakh healthcare workers across 3,006 sites across the country. Vaccination is allowed only for those who are above the age of 18 years, the Centre said. Women who are pregnant or not sure of their pregnancy and lactating mothers should not receive the vaccine.
Read Here "Can COVID-19 Vaccine Cause Infertility?": Health Minister Tackles MythsAhead of the COVID-19 vaccination drive that starts Saturday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan took to Twitter on Thursday, to dispel doubts about the vaccines.
Posting a series of graphics on Twitter, the minister addressed fears like the vaccine causing infertility or spreading the coronavirus infection.
"There is no scientific evidence to suggest that #COVIDVaccine could cause infertility in either men or women. Kindly do not pay heed to such rumours or information from unverified sources," he said in one tweet.
Farmers' Protest: Day After It Was Set Up, Member Quits Supreme Court Panel On Farm LawsBhartiya Kisan Union's national president Bhupinder Singh Mann has stepped down from the Supreme Court-appointed committee to look into the Centre's contentious farm laws, saying he did not wish to "compromise farmers' interests". His decision came a day ahead of the next round of talks between the government and the farmers. The matter will now go back to the court for further orders.
A statement from Mr Mann today read: "As a farmer myself and a Union leader, in view of the prevailing sentiments and apprehensions amongst farm unions and the public in general, I am ready to sacrifice any position offered or given to me so as not to compromise the interests of Punjab and farmers of the country."
Coronavirus news: Ahead Of Covid Vaccine Rollout, Centre Sends Rulebook To StatesTwo days to go for the rollout of the Covid vaccines, the Centre circulated the dos and don'ts for vaccination to the states this evening. The rollout on Saturday is expected to cover 3 lakh healthcare workers across 3,006 sites across the country.
Vaccination is allowed only for those who are above the age of 18 years, the Centre said. Women who are pregnant or not sure of their pregnancy and lactating mothers should not receive the vaccine.
The Centre also said that interchangeability of vaccine is not permitted. The second dose of the vaccine should also be of the one that was administered as first dose.
Both vaccines cleared by the country's drug regulator -- Serum Institute's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin -- are two-dose vaccines which have to be administered at a 28-day gap.