COVID-19 Cases in India: The death count increased to 1,47,901 with 279 new fatalities. (File)
India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,02,07,871 with 20,021 infections being reported in a day, while recoveries have surged to 97.82 lakh, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.
The death count increased to 1,47,901 with 279 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 97,82,669 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.83 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent.
The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh for the seventh consecutive day.
There are 2,77,301 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 2.72 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
Meanwhile, a two-day dry run for coronavirus vaccine program starts today in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Assam. All the four states will report their observations to the centre recorded during the program. The government plans to cover 30 crore people in the first phase when it rolls out a vaccine.
Here are the live updates on Coronavirus Cases:
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: UK returnee woman tests positive in Jabalpur
A 52-year-old woman, who returned to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh from the United Kingdom
on December 12, has tested positive for coronavirus, an official said on Monday. The woman's swab samples have been sent to Delhi for further examination to check if she has been infected by a new strain recently detected in the UK, Jabalpur Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr R Kurariya said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Odisha unable to trace 62 UK returnees
The Odisha government on Monday said that as many as 62 returnees from the United Kingdom are untraceable despite the administration's request for cooperation to keep a tab on the new coronavirus strain.
As many as 181 passengers have returned to Odisha from the UK between November 30 and December 21. Of them, 62 are untraceable, Director of Public Health, Dr Niranjan Mishra, said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: US troops in Europe receive first COVID-19 vaccine shots
The US Army announced on Monday that it has started vaccinating service members deployed overseas belonging to the European Command against the novel coronavirus.
"US Army Health Clinics in Ansbach, Grafenwoehr and Vilseck [Germany] conducted their first inoculations of healthcare workers with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Dec. 28, 2020," the announcement said.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: South Africa tightens curbs, president bans alcohol sales
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has intensified restrictions in the country and reimposed a ban on the sale of liquor amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in the past one week.
Not wearing masks in public will now be a criminal offence with the risk of arrest and up to six months in prison if convicted, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Eight care home workers in Germany overdosed on Pfizer vaccine
Eight elderly workers at a German care home were mistakenly injected with five times the recommended dose of the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine, local authorities said Monday.
The incident happened on Sunday in the northeastern city of Stralsund in the Vorpommern-Ruegen district. District chief Stefan Kerth said in a statement that he regretted the mishap, ANi reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Bengal reports 1,028 new COVID-19 cases, 27 fresh fatalities
West Bengal's COVID-19 tally rose to 5,48,471 as 1,028 more people tested positive for the infection, while 27 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death count to 9,625, a health bulletin said. As many as 1,614 more people have been cured of the disease, taking the recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state to 95.85 per cent, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Maharashtra government issues COVID-19 protocols for tourism sector
The Maharashtra government on Monday issued COVID-19 protocols on safety, hygiene, booking and accommodation for the tourism sector. The SoP lays down that people above the age of 65, those with co-morbidities, pregnant women, children below the age of ten should stay home and venture out only for essential and health visits, PTI reported.
Bengal reports 1,028 new COVID-19 cases, 27 fresh fatalitiesWest Bengal's COVID-19 tally rose to 5,48,471 as 1,028 more people tested positive for the
infection, while 27 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 9,625, a health bulletin said.
As many as 1,614 more people have been cured of the disease, taking the recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state to 95.85 per cent, it said.
North 24 Parganas district reported the highest number of new cases at 268, followed by Kolkata (200) and Howrah (71), the bulletin said.
North 24 Parganas also reported the highest number of fresh fatalities at seven, followed by four each in Kolkata and South 24 Parganas, it said.
Chattisgarh sees 1,188 COVID-19 cases, 26 deaths; 1,661 recoverChhattisgarh's COVID-19 tally reached 2,76,337 on Monday after 1,188 cases were detected,
while 26 deaths took the count to 3,319, a health official said.
The number of people who have recovered reached 2,60,056 after 98 people were discharged from hospitals and 1,563 completed home isolation, leaving the state with 12,962 active cases, he added.
"Raipur reported 191 new cases, taking its total count to 52,126, including 709 deaths. Durg saw 112 cases, Bilaspur 86, Korba 76, Raigarh 75 and Balod 65. Of the 26 deaths, eight took place on Monday, 12 on Saturday and six earlier," he added.
Gautam Buddh Nagar records 27 new COVID-19 cases, tally 24,845Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded 27 new COVID-19 cases on Monday that pushed the district's infection tally to 24,845, official data showed.
Active cases in the district came down to 462 from 477 the previous day, as the recovery rate rose to 97.78 per cent, according to the data released by the UP Health Department for a 24-hour period.
The number of active cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar is the seventh highest in the state.
On the brighter side, 42 more patients got discharged during the period, taking the overall recoveries to 24,294, the fifth highest in the state.
The death toll in Gautam Buddh Nagar has reached 89 and the mortality rate is 0.35 per cent. The recovery rate of patients reached 97.78 per cent, the statistics showed.
Meanwhile, the number of active COVID-19 cases in UP came down to 14,710 from 15,371 on Sunday while the overall recoveries reached 5,59,888 and the death toll climbed to 8,322 on Monday, the data showed.
10 regional laboratories identified for genome sequencing to detect new coronavirus variantTen regional laboratories have been identified by the Centre where states will send five per cent of their COVID-19 positive samples for genome sequencing to detect the new coronavirus variant that has emerged in the United Kingdom recently.
The health ministry has also established the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) for laboratory and epidemiological surveillance and expand whole genome sequencing of the coronavirus in the country, aiding in the understanding of how the virus spreads and evolves.
The emergence of the new coronavirus strain in the UK has required India to increase viral genomic surveillance in order to understand the spread of the virus in a rapid and robust manner.
"The 10 regional genome sequencing laboratories spread across the country will cater to the nearest states, which will send five per cent of the positive samples to these labs for genome sequencing," stated the Union Health Ministry's guidance document on genomic sequencing released on Monday.
The viral genome sequencing data generated will be analysed by the respective centres and sent to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, for collation and integration.
Gujarat forms task force to oversee COVID-19 vaccine driveThe Gujarat government on Monday formed a four-member task force to oversee the mass
vaccination drive in the state once a vaccine against COVID-19 is made available for inoculation.
The task force, set up by the Health and Family Welfare Department, consists of renowned pediatricians Dr Naveen Thacker and Dr Nishchal Bhatt, immunology expert Dr Sapan Pandya and Dr Bhadresh Vyas of Jamnagar Medical College and Hospital, said a government release.
Addressing their first press conference, the task force members urged people not to worry about vaccine and discard rumours which claim that the potential shot will
change their DNA.
Seven out of 227 people from England test positive for COVID-19 in UttarakhandSeven of the 227 people, who came to Uttarakhand from England earlier this month before flight operations from that country were suspended, have tested positive for COVID-19.
Five of them are in Dehradun district and one each is in Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts, an official at the State Health Directorate said.
All the 227 people arrived in the state from England between December 9 and December 23, when India decided to suspend flights to and from that country amid fears of a new and more infectious variant of the coronavirus being found there.
Telangana: One more UK returnee tests positiveOne more person who arrived from the UK has been found positive, taking the total number of UK-returnees who tested positive for the coronavirus infection to 21 since December 9.
Observing that the Telangana health department is alert in the wake of new strain of coronavirus surfacing, state Director of Public Health G Srinivasa Rao said government is following a policy of tracing, testing and treating to prevent the spread of the virus, according to an official release on Monday.
Maharashtra reports 2,498 COVID-19 cases, 4,501 recoveries; 50 dieMaharashtra's COVID-19 tally rose to 19,22,048 on Monday with the addition of 2,498 new cases, while 50 fresh deaths pushed the count to 49,305, the state health department said.
A health department official said 4,501 patients were discharged during the day, taking the number of recoveries to 18,14,449.
There are now 57,159 active cases in the state, he said.
So far, 1,25,43,772 people have been tested for coronavirus in Maharashtra, of which 41,218 were examined on Monday, the official added.
Nagpur sees 335 COVID-19 cases, 7 deaths, 576 recoveriesThe number of COVID-19 cases in Nagpur rose by 335 to reach 1,22,649 on Monday, while the
death toll touched 3,907 after seven patients succumbed to the infection, an official said.
The number of people who have been discharged stands at 1,14,926, including 576 on Monday, leaving the district with 3,816 active cases, he said.
With 3,272 samples tested on Monday, the overall number of tests conducted in the district went up to 9,15,910.
Gujarat records 810 COVID-19 cases, 1,016 recoveries; 6 dieGujarat reported 810 new coronavirus cases on Monday, takingits COVID-19 tally to 2,42,655, the state health department said.
With six new fatalities, the state''s COVID-19 death count rose to 4,288, it said.
The number of recovered cases rose to 2,28,144, after 1,016 more patients were discharged from hospitals, said the department in a release.
With this, the state's recovery rate increased to 94.02 per cent, it said.
US airports screen record number of travellers over holiday despite COVID-19 warnings
US airports screened a record number of passengers over the Christmas holiday weekend despite warnings from top health officials about the risk of travelling amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said on Monday.
"TSA screened 1,284,599 people at airport checkpoints nationwide yesterday, Sunday, Dec. 27," Farbstein said via Twitter. "It is the highest checkpoint throughput since the pandemic hit. It is also the 6th day in the last 10 that volume has surpassed 1M. If you choose to travel, please wear a mask."
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had previously urged Americans not to travel during the Christmas holiday, warning of an "exponential" increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths across the country.
Health officials in the United States have documented more than 19.1 million cases of COVID-19 since January, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU) showed on Monday.
Compulsory COVID-19 tests for all who entered Nagaland after Dec 20In the wake of the emergence of a mutated strain of the virus in the UK, all persons who have
come to Nagaland after December 20 have been asked to report to their district-level coronavirus task forces for compulsory COVID-19 testing, a senior health official said on Monday.
"Those arriving after the issuance of this circular are to self declare at the point of entry, inform their respective district task forces and self isolate themselves for standard testing protocols," Principal Director of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Vizolie Z. Suokhrie, said in a press
release.
Madhya Pradesh logs 876 new COVID-19 cases, 9 deaths; 1,090 dischargedMadhya Pradesh on Monday reported 876 COVID-19 cases, taking the infection count to 2,39,228, health officials said.
With nine more patients dying due to the infection, the death count rose to 3,572, they said.
A total of 1,090 people were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the state's overall recovery count to 2,25,782.
"Four patients died in Indore, two in Bhopal and one each in Dhar, Shivpuri and Guna. Of the 876 new cases, Indore accounted for 293 and Bhopal 167. The cases in Indore rose to 54,203, including 863 deaths, while Bhopal's tally stood at 38,796 with 571 fatalities. Indore has 3,227 active cases, and this figure for Bhopal is 2,055," an official said.
With 26,180 new tests conducted in the state in the last 24 hours, the number of samples examined so far rose to 45,58,039.
Flaw revealed in model used to evaluate lockdowns: Study
During a recent study researchers found a fundamental shortcoming in the model which was developed to evaluate the effect of different measures used to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Swedish researchers from Lund University and other institutions published these findings in the journal, Nature. They claimed that the model which was made by researchers from Imperial College London had fundamental shortcomings and cannot be used to draw the published conclusions.
The results from Imperial indicated that it was almost exclusively the complete societal lockdown that suppressed the wave of infections in Europe during spring.
The study estimated the effects of different measures such as social distancing, self-isolating, closing schools, banning public events, and the lockdown itself.
"As the measures were introduced at roughly the same time over a few weeks in March, the mortality data used simply does not contain enough information to differentiate their individual effects. We have demonstrated this by conducting a mathematical analysis. Using this as a basis, we then ran simulations using Imperial College's original code to illustrate how the model''s sensitivity leads to unreliable results," explains Kristian Soltesz, associate professor in automatic control at Lund University and first author of the article.
Karnataka reports 653 new COVID-19 cases
Karnataka reported 653 new COVID-19 cases, 1,178 discharges and 8 deaths on Monday.
With the addition of new infections, the total cases in the state reached 9,16,909.
At present, there are 12,547 active cases while 8,92,273 recovered from the disease.
The death count in the state due to coronavirus has reached 12,070.
COVID-19 news: 1,005 new coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu reported 1,005 new coronavirus infections while 1,074 recoveries on Monday, according to the state government''s bulletin.
11 patients succumbed to the disease, taking the death toll to 12,080.
At present, there are 8,867 active coronavirus cases and 7,94,228 people discharged from the disease in the state.
Kerala reports 3,047 new coronavirus cases
A total of 3,047 new coronavirus cases were reported in Kerala on Monday while 4,172 patients recovered from the disease in the state.
According to a state government bulletin, 2,707 people, including 30 healthcare workers, were infected through contact and the source of infection for 275 cases was unknown.
With 14 more deaths, the cumulative death toll in the state has gone up to 2,990.
The release said that 32,869 samples were tested during the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate is 9.27 per cent.
Malappuram reported the highest number of cases at 504 followed by Kozhikode with 399.
Section 144 To Be Imposed In Bengaluru On New Year's Eve Amid COVID-19: Police
COVID-19 Latest Updates: Maharashtra Reports 2,498 New Cases, 4,501 Discharges And 50 Deaths
11 More UK Returnees Test COVID-19 Positive, 17 Yet To Be Traced In Andhra Pradesh: Official
Amid the rising global concerns regarding the new COVID-19 strain in the United Kingdom, 11 more UK returnees tested positive while 17 are yet to be traced in Andhra Pradesh, an official statement said.
According to a statement from Medical and Health department of Andhra Pradesh, "Total returnees from the UK till date are 1,363. Out of these, the traced returnees are 1,346. Rest 17 are yet to be traced. Among the traced, 1324 are in quarantine."
"11 are tested COVID-19 positive among UK returnees of which 1 is from Anantapuram district, 2 from East Godavari district, 3 from Krishna district, 4 from Guntur and 1 from Nellore district," it added.
COVID-19 Guidelines For Surveillance To Remain In Force Till January 31: Home Ministry
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday issued an order to extend the earlier 'guidelines for COVID-19 surveillance', which will remain in force up to January 31, 2021.
"While there has been a continuous decline in the active and new COVID-19 cases, there is need to maintain surveillance, containment and caution, keeping in view the surge in cases globally, and emergence of a new variant of the virus in the United Kingdom (UK)," the MHA said in a press release.
Accordingly, containment zones continue to be demarcated carefully, prescribed containment measures strictly followed within these zones, COVID-appropriate behaviour promoted and strictly enforced, and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prescribed in respect of various permitted activities followed scrupulously, the MHA said.
Delhi Reports 564 New COVID-19 Cases, 959 Recoveries And 21 Deaths In The Last 24 Hours
Coronavirus Live Updates: Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey Tests Positive For COVID-19
Will Probably Give Majority Of 50 Million Covid Vaccine Doses To India First: Adar Poonawalla
Coronavirus Latest News: 33 New COVID-19 Cases Reported In Puducherry Today
COVID-19 LIVE News: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat Admitted To AIIMS In Delhi
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who had tested positive for COVID-19 and was hospitalised in Dehradun after developing fever, was admitted to AIIMS in Delhi on Monday, PTI reported.
He was admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre, which has been converted into a dedicated COVID-19 facility, around 12.30 pm, sources said, adding his condition was stable.
His physician NS Bisht said he has been shifted to AIIMS for necessary tests on the advice of doctors there. The chief minister's health parameters are normal and his fever has also gone down since Sunday night. There is slight infection in his lungs, he said.
72.99% Of New Recovered Cases Concentrated In 10 States, Union Territories: Health Ministry
COVID-19 Live News: Andhra Pradesh Reports 212 New Cases
Pfizer Delays COVID-19 Vaccine Deliveries To 8 European Union Nations: Spanish Health Ministry
Pfizer has postponed the delivery of new batches of its coronavirus vaccine to eight European nations including Spain, the Spanish health ministry said Monday, a day after the EU began its immunisation campaign.
The Spanish branch of Pfizer informed Madrid on Sunday night of the delay in shipments to the eight nations due to a "problem in the loading and shipment process" at its plant in Belgium, the health ministry said in a statement.
It did not specify which European nations aside from Spain were affected.
Pfizer has informed the ministry that the problem "was already resolved" but the next delivery of vaccines "will be a few hours late" and arrive in Spain on Tuesday, a day later than expected, the statement said.
Coronavirus Latest News: COVID-19 Vaccination Dry Run Begins In 2 Districts Of Gujarat
A two-day dry run to check the preparedness of health authorities for a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination programme began on Monday in Rajkot and Gandhinagar districts of Gujarat, officials said.
Gujarat is one of the four states chosen by the Centre to conduct the mock COVID-19 vaccination drive.
"In Gujarat, the dry run is being carried out in Rajkot district, Rajkot city, Gandhinagar district and Gandhinagar city," State Immunisation Officer Dr Nayan Jani said.
Will Discuss Reopening Of Schools In Karnataka Today: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa
Preparations Underway For COVID-19 Vaccine Dry Run In Punjab, Andhra Pradesh
Preparations are underway in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh for a dry run of the COVID-19 vaccination programme that will be held in four states today, ANI reported.
The dry runs will be carried out on December 28-29 in Punjab, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
Dayanand Medical College in Punja''s Ludhiana and Primary Health Care, Krishna Nagar at Prakash Nagar in Vijayawada district of Andhra Pradesh - the two districts are assessing their preparedness in a phased manner with priority groups- healthcare workers, frontline workers, elderly and population with co-morbidities in the states.
One-Fifth Of UP's Active COVID-19 Cases In Its 8 National Capital Region Districts: Official Data
Eight districts of Uttar Pradesh that lie in the National Capital Region (NCR) account for over 20 per cent or one-fifth of the active COVID-19 cases in the state and more than 11 per cent of deaths linked to the coronavirus, according to official data.
Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat and Shamli districts of Uttar Pradesh are a part of the NCR, a wider region that also comprises districts of Haryana and Rajasthan, and entire Delhi.
According to Uttar Pradesh government data, updated till Sunday, there were a total of 5,81,980 COVID-19 cases in the state while the number of active cases stood at 15,371 of which 3,134 (20.38 per cent) were in its National Capital Region (NCR) districts.
Coronavirus Live News: Telangana Reports 205 New Cases, 2 Deaths
As many as 205 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths have been reported from Telangana on Sunday, while 551 patients have been discharged during the day, the state's health department said.
The total number of positive cases in the state has gone up to 2,85,068.
Of these, a total of 2,77,304 have recovered. While there are a total of 6,231 active cases, 1,533 patients have died due to the virus, it added.
COVID-19 Live Updates: Puducherry Adds 33 New Cases, Tally Above 38,000
Puducherry reported 33 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally in the union territory past the 38,000 mark.
Meanwhile, no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours, PTI reported quoting a top health department official on Monday.
The 33 new cases took the overall tally of infectionsto 38,028, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release.
As many as 35 patients were discharged after recovery during the last 24 hours as the union territory did not register any new fatality, he added.
COVID-19: Telangana logs 205 new cases, 2 deaths take count to 1,533Telangana reported 205 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest figure after several months, taking the tally to over 2.85 lakhwhile two fatalities pushed the count to 1,533, the state government said on Monday.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 54, followed by Rangareddy and Karimnagar with 15 and 13 respectively, it said in a bulletin, providing details as of 8 PM on December 27.
The total number of positive cases stood at 2,85,068 while recoveries were at 2,77,304.
As many as 6,231 patients were under treatment and 27,244 samples were tested on Sunday.
Cumulatively, over 67.50 lakh samples have been tested.
Coronavirus news: Maharashtra's Thane district's COVID-19 count rises by 341
With the addition of 341 fresh coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 2,41,814, an official said on Monday.
These new cases were reported on Sunday, he said. As the virus claimed the lives of two more persons, the death count in Thane district rose to 5,926.
The COVID-19 mortality rate in the district stood at 2.45 per cent.
A total of 2,31,647 patients have recovered from the COVID-19 infection in Thane district so far, taking the recovery rate to 95.80 per cent, the official said, adding that the district is now left with 4,241 active cases.
COVID-19: 12 new cases push Andamans tally to 4,924Twelve more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, pushing the coronavirus tally in the Union Territory to 4,924, a health department official said on Monday.
All the new cases were detected during contact tracing, he said.
Nine more people were cured of the disease in the last 24-hours, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 4,798, he said.
The Union Territory now has 64 active COVID-19 cases, while 62 people have died so far due to the disease, the official said.
Coronavirus: 20,021 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, nearly 7% higher than yesterday; 1.02 crore total cases, 1,47,901 deathsIndia's daily number of COVID-19 cases today jumped 6.88% since yesterday to touch 20,021. The number of fresh fatalities, 279, remained the same as yesterday, according to data released by the Central Health Ministry. The overall death count since the outbreak in January is now 1,47,901 while the country's total active stood at 2,77,301 out of the 1,02,07,871 recorded till now. The number of recoveries today increased by 21,131, to touch 97,82,669." itemprop="description
Just In | 20,021 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, nearly 7% higher than yesterday; 1.02 crore total cases, 1,47,901 deaths
COVID-19: Jharkhand reports 122 new cases, 1 more deathJharkhand's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,14,268 as 122 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Monday.
The COVID-19 death count in the state rose to 1,019 as one more person succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, he said.
Ranchi district registered the maximum number of fresh cases at 53, followed by East Singhbhum (45) and Dhanbad (15).
Jharkhand now has 1,585 active coronavirus cases, while 1,11,664 people have been cured of the disease so far, the official said.
Coronavirus news: Sydney Told To Watch Its Famous New Year's Eve Fireworks From Home
Sydney, one of the world's first major cities to welcome each New Year with a public countdown featuring a fireworks display over its well-known Opera House, has banned large gatherings that night amid an outbreak of the coronavirus.
A mid-December resurgence of COVID-19 in the city's northern beach suburbs has grown to 125 cases after five new infections were recorded on Monday. About a quarter of million of people there must stay in strict lockdown until Jan. 9
That has led to further restrictions of the already toned-down plans for the New Year's Eve. New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian banned most people from coming to Sydney's downtown that night and limited outdoor gatherings to 50 people.
COVID-19: South Korea Detects First Coronavirus Variant Cases
Three cases of a particularly infectious coronavirus variant that recently emerged in Britain have been confirmed in South Korea, health authorities said Monday.
The three individuals are members of a London-based family who arrived in the country on December 22, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
They have been placed in isolation since testing positive for Covid-19 on arrival, the KDCA statement said.
The new strain of the virus emerged earlier this month in Britain and has already reached several European countries, as well as Canada, Jordan and Japan.
COVID-19: 2-Day Coronavirus Vaccine Dry Run Starts In Four States TodayA two-day dry run for coronavirus vaccine program starts today in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Assam. Focus on management of possible adverse events after immunisation, and dry runs that include checks on cold storage and transportation arrangements will be a part of program that will be carried out in the chosen districts in each state.
All the four states will report their observations to the centre recorded during the program. The government plans to cover 30 crore people in the first phase when it rolls out Covid vaccine.
A total of 2,360 training sessions have been held so far, and 7,000 officials have been trained, including medical officers and vaccinators.
Coronavirus news: US surpasses 19 mn Covid-19 cases: Report
The United States surpassed 19 million coronavirus cases Sunday, figures from Johns Hopkins University showed, adding one million new cases in less than a week.
The US recorded 165,151 new cases in 24 hours at 8:30 pm (0130 GMT Monday), the Baltimore-based institution said, bringing the overall total to 19,107,675 cases.
The grim new milestone comes just six days after the US crossed the 18 million case threshold.
The US also has a total of 333,069 virus-related deaths. Both the caseload and death toll are by far the highest in the world.
Coronavirus cases have been surging at an alarming rate in the US in recent months. The world's largest economy has added at least one million new cases per week since early November, according to an AFP tally of Johns Hopkins data.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: 46 new cases push Sikkim's COVID-19 tally to 5,845
Sikkim's COVID-19 tally rose to 5,845 on Sunday as 46 more people, including 36 inmates of Rongyek jail, tested positive for the infection, PTI reported.
Coronavirus LIVE Updates: South Africa's total COVID-19 cases cross 1 million mark
South Africa's total coronavirus infections since the first case in March crossed a million on Sunday, its Health Ministry said, just days after a new faster spreading variant was confirmed to be present in the country.
The grim milestone comes nine days after the country, the worst hit in Africa, reported 900,000 cases, Reuters reported. The country had taken two weeks to reach 900,000 from the 800,000 seen early in December.