Coronavirus Cases in India: The recovery rate is 94.66 per cent.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Joe Biden warns US Congress must act or vaccine drive will "slow and stall"US President-elect Joe Biden warned that coronavirus vaccination efforts in the United States will "slow and stall" if Congress does not urgently come up with funding. Joe Biden, who takes office on January 20, pledged to lead the "the most efficient mass vaccination plan in US history," carrying out at least 100 million vaccinations in his first 100 days in office.
"There's a real chance that after an early round of vaccinations the effort will slow and stall," he aid. "We need Congress to finish the bipartisan work underway now or millions of Americans may wait months longer to get the vaccine."
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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".
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.
China, Russia Haven't Sought European Authorisation For Vaccines, Says Official
Russia and China have not requested authorisation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for their COVID-19 vaccines and the agency is not under political pressure to speed up vaccine approvals, the regulator's chief said. "For the time being they have not sought authorisation for their vaccines. If they do, we will study the data," EMA's Executive Director Emer Cooke told Italian daily la Repubblica, when asked about the Chinese and Russian vaccines. China has approved three vaccine candidates developed by Sinovac and state-owned Sinopharm for emergency use.
Coronavirus Updates: Foreign envoys take a tour of Bharat Biotech facility in Hyderabad
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Odisha Reports 386 Fresh COVID-19 Cases, 5 Deaths
Odisha's COVID-19 caseload climbed to 3,22,299 on Wednesday after 386 people tested positive for the virus, while five fresh fatalities pushed the coastal state's coronavirus death toll to 1,789, a health
department official said.
The fresh cases were detected from 28 of the 30 districts.
Khurda district, comprising state capital Bhubaneswar, reported the highest of 50 single-day cases followed by Sundergarh (47) and Mayurbhanj (31).
Koraput and Nabarangpur districts did not register any new infection during the last 24 hours, he said.
A total of 53 other COVID-19 patients have so far died due to comorbidities.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Israel Gets First Delivery Of Pfizer Covid-19 VaccineIsrael received its first batch of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring the pandemic's end was "in sight" and vowing to get the first jab.
"This is a great celebration for Israel," he said on the tarmac at Ben Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv, as a fork-lift truck started unloading the cargo from a red and yellow DHL air freighter.
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Coronavirus LIVE Updates: China Tests 2,50,000 People For Covid After New Cluster Emerges
China has tested more than a quarter of a million people for the coronavirus after a handful of new cases were detected in the southern city of Chengdu.
An elderly couple were diagnosed as confirmed cases on Monday, and authorities have been tracing their close contacts and testing food samples.
Local health officials said the virus was detected on food stored in their fridge and on a chopping board in their flat.
As of Tuesday 255,200 residents in the city had been swabbed for COVID-19 tests, the municipal health commission said, with six confirmed cases and one asymptomatic patient.
Supreme Court Seeks Reply From Centre, States On COVID-19 Guidelines, Fire Safety In Hospitals
The Supreme Court Wednesday 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 India.
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.
Recently, it also took cognisance of the fire incident in a designated COVID-19 hospital in Gujarat''s Rajkot in which several patients had died, raising the issue of lack of proper fire safety measures in hospitals across the country.
A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Gujarat government, to file detailed affidavits within three days on the issues such as enforcing of COVID-19 guidelines and fire safety measures in hospitals and nursing homes.
COVID-19: 73 New Cases Reported In Ladakh, One More Person DiesOne more person died due to coronavirus in Ladakh, which reported 73 fresh cases pushing the virus caseload to 8969 and fatalities to 122 in the union territory, an official bulletin said on Wednesday.
With the fresh death, fatalities in Leh district has gone up to 79. The rest of the 43 deaths due to the infection had taken place in Kargil district, according to the bulletin issued by directorate of health services, Ladakh.
Out of the new cases, it said 49 persons tested positive for coronavirus in Leh and 24 others in Kargil.
The number of patients, who were successfully treated for the infection, had gone up to 8054 after 43 more patients were discharged on Tuesday, the officials said, adding they included 38 in Leh and four in Kargil.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Actor Kriti Sanon Tests Positive For COVID-19
Actor Kriti Sanon on Wednesday said she has tested positive for coronavirus and is currently under home quarantine.
The 30-year-old actor had recently returned to Mumbai after wrapping up the shoot for her upcoming film with her "Bareilly Ki Barfi" co-star Rajkummar Rao in Chandigarh, following which there were reports she had contracted the disease.
In a statement on Twitter, Ms Sanon said she is following the advice of doctors and officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
"I'd like to inform everyone that I have tested positive for COVID-19. There's absolutely nothing to worry as I'm feeling fine and have quarantined myself as per BMC and my doctor's advice," the actor said.
Ms Sanon said she will get back to work as soon as she tests negative and thanked her fans for their wishes.
The 64 Heads of Missions in India arrive in Hyderabad.
They are scheduled to visit Bharat Biotech and Biological E. Ltd, in continuation of the briefing by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Coronavirus Latest News LIVE: 5 New COVID-19 Cases In Andamans; Tally Rises To 4,778
Andaman and Nicobar Islands COVID-19 tally rose to 4,778 as five more persons tested positive for the virus, a health department official said on
Wednesday.
Of the five fresh cases, one was detected during contact tracing, while four have travel history, he said.
Sixteen more people were cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 4,647, the official said.
The Union Territory now has 70 active COVID-19 cases, while 61 people have so far died due to the infection, he said.
COVID-19: 721 New Cases, 3 Deaths In TelanganaTelangana registered 721 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the total infection count to over 2.75 lakh while three related fatalities pushed the toll to 1,480.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 123, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri 58 and Rangareddy 51, a government bulletin said on Wednesday providing details as of 8 pm on December 8.
As many as7,661 patients are under treatment and 51,402 samples were tested on Tuesday.
Cumulatively, over 59.19 lakh samples have been tested.
The samples tested per million population was over 1.59 lakh, the bulletin said.
64 Heads of Missions in India leave for Hyderabad, where they are scheduled to visit Bharat Biotech and Biological E. Ltd, in continuation of the briefing by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The facilities are developing COVID-19 vaccine.
Coronavirus Latest News LIVE: Jharkhand Reports 182 New COVID-19 Cases; Tally Rises To 1,10,639
Jharkhand's COVID-19 tally mounted to 1,10,639 as 182 more people tested positive for the virus, a health department official said on Wednesday.
The COVID-19 death toll in the state remained at 988 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24-hours, he said.
Ranchi district registered the maximum number of new infections at 67, followed by East Singhbhum (19) and Dhanbad (15), the official said.
Jharkhand now has 1,753 active COVID-19 cases, while 1,07,898 people have been cured of the disease so far, the official said.
JustIn| 32,080 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, nearly 21% higher than yesterday; 97.35 lakh total cases, 1,41,360 deaths
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Trump Signs Executive Order Prioritising COVID-19 Vaccine For Americans
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that prioritises Americans'' access to COVID-19 vaccines before the US potentially begins helping other nations.
If necessary, Trump said, he is ready to invoke the Defence Production Act to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines first get to the Americans. The Defence Production Act allows a president to force private manufacturers to ramp up production and give the federal government priority on any orders it places.
American companies, he said, were the first to produce a verifiably safe and effective vaccine.