Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: India may need to spend $1.8 bn on COVID-19 vaccines in first phase, documents show

India will have to spend $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion in the first phase of a coronavirus vaccination programme, even after getting support under the COVAX global vaccine-sharing scheme, according to estimates by the GAVI vaccines alliance. India, which has the world's second highest caseload of coronavirus behind the United States, plans to inoculate 300 million people over the next six to eight months, likely with vaccines from AstraZeneca, Russia's Sputnik, Zydus Cadila and India's own Bharat Biotech. Documents reviewed by Reuters underline the scale of the funding challenge India faces to immunise its vast population, with 600 million shots required in the first wave alone for critical workers and people most at risk from COVID-19. If India got 190-250 million shots of the vaccine under the COVAX facility - a best case scenario - then the government would need to line up about $1.4 billion to make up for the shortfall, according to an unpublished report prepared for GAVI's three-day board meeting that began on Tuesday.

With that it's a wrap to the LIVE updates on the coronavirus pandemic for the day. Do join us tomorrow for the top developments on the COVID-19 situation from India and around the world. Until then, stay safe and good night.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 169 new coronavirus cases in Surat district, two die

Surat reported 169 new COVID-19 cases and two fatalities on Wednesday, the state health department said. With this, the total of positive cases in the district rose to 46,859 and the death toll to 1,110, it said. As many as 185 patients were discharged, the department said in its release. A total of 143 new cases were reported in Surat city, where 148 patients were also discharged. In rural Surat, 26 new cases and 37 recoveries were reported, it said. The recovery rate of Surat city stands at 95.22 per cent with a total 33,346 patients getting discharged so far, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) said. As many as 13,067 people were currently quarantined in Surat city, while in rural parts, 1,378 people are quarantined, officials said.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Maharashtra reports 4,304 new COVID-19 cases, 95 deaths

Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally rose to 18,80,893 on Wednesday with the addition of 4,304 fresh cases, said a state health department official. The state also reported 95 more deaths, taking the fatality count to 48,434, he said. The state reported a drop in number of positive patients by 10,218 compared to Tuesday with the authorities attributing it to reconciliation of figures in database where some names were repeated. The reconciliation procedure has been completed of the data compiled till November 12. The remaining data is going through a similar procedure and there may be further correction in the figures, said the official from the health department. It has also resulted in reducing the discharged patients' figure by 791, he added. A total of 4,678 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the tally of recovered people to 17,69,897, the official said. With this, the number of active cases stood at 61,454, he said.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 'Bharat Biotech vaccine well tolerated with no serious adverse events'

The interim findings of phase 1 clinical trial of COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, indigenously developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the ICMR, showed that it was was well tolerated in all dose groups with no serious or adverse events. The vaccine induced robust binding and neutralising antibody responses which were comparable to those observed in the convalescent serum collected from patients who had recovered from COVID-19, according to the findings which have appeared on medRxiv, a preprint server. A preprint is a version of a scientific manuscript posted on a public server prior to formal peer review. One serious adverse event was reported, which was found to be unrelated to vaccination, the findings showed.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Goa sees 91 fresh COVID-19 cases, 104 recoveries

Goa on Wednesday reported 91 new COVID-19 cases, taking the count of infections to 49,657, a health department official said. With three more patients succumbing to the infection, the overall toll reached 713 in the state, he said. A total of 104 people were discharged during the day, taking the tally of recoveries to 47,965, the official said.The state has 979 active cases. A total of 1,758 samples were tested during the day, he added. Goa's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 49,657, new cases 91, death toll 713, discharged 47,965, active cases 979, samples tested till date 3,75,678.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Gujarat COVID-19 case count at 2,31,073

The coronavirus infection tally in Gujarat increased to 2,31,073 with the addition of 1,160 cases on Wednesday, the state health department said. The death toll due to the virus rose to 4,203 as 10 patients succumbed during the day, it said. A total of1,384 patients got discharge from hospitals on Wednesday, the department said in its release. This took Gujarat's recovery count to 2,14,223 at the rate of 92.71 per cent. There are 12,647 active cases in the state at present and 67 of the patients are on ventilator support. Gujarat's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 2,31,073, new cases 1,160, death toll 4,203, active cases 12,647 and people tested so far 88,35,130.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Mizoram reports 31 new COVID-19 cases; tally rises to 4,080

Thirty-one more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram, pushing the tally to 4,080, a health department official said on Wednesday. Of the 31 fresh cases, 11 cases each were reported from Aizawl and Lunglei districts, eight from Lawngtlai and one case from Serchhip district, he said. While five patients have developed symptoms of COVID- 19 the rest 26 are asymptomatic. The state now has 167 COVID-19 cases, while 3,906 people have recovered from the disease. The COVID-19 recovery rate in Mizoram now is 95.74 per cent, he said. Mizoram has so far reported seven COVID-19 deaths so. The state has tested 1,67,275 samples so far of which 2.44 per cent were found to be positive for COVID-19. The official said COVID-19 infection rate in Mizoram has declined since the last week of November owing to the efforts made by the government in particular and the people in general.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: J&K's COVID-19 tally rises to 1,16,922 with 332 fresh cases

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 332 fresh COVID-19 infections on Wednesday which took the union territory's caseload to 1,16,922, while five more fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,817, officials said. Of the fresh cases, 151 were reported from the Kashmir division and 181 from the Jammu division, they said. Jammu district recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 96, followed by 53 in Srinagar district, according to the officials. The number of active cases dropped to 4,346 in the union territory as 415 patients recovered from the infection. So far, 1,10,769 patients have recovered, the officials said. Jammu and Kashmir also reported five more COVID-19 deaths the previous day, four from Jammu and one from the Kashmir region, they said. With these, the death toll due to the pandemic stands at 1,817, they said.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: COVID-19: 1,240 new cases in Karnataka, 6 deaths

Karnataka on Wednesday reported 1,240 new cases of COVID-19 and 6 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 9,04,665 and the death toll to 11,971. The day also saw 1,403 patients getting discharged after recovery. A total of over 1,26,11,493 samples have been tested so far, out of which 1,01,750 were tested on Wednesday alone, and 14,720 among them were rapid antigen tests. Out of 1,240 fresh cases reported today, 676 cases were from Bengaluru urban alone. As of December 16 evening, cumulatively 9,04,665 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 11,971 deaths and 8,77,199 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin. It said, out of 15,476 active cases,15,228 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and stable, while 248 are in ICU.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Telangana gears up to inoculate 80 lakh people in first phase once COVID-19 vaccine ready

Telangana is in the process of creating the required infrastructure for administering COVID- 19 vaccine initially to about 80 lakh people, including front-line warriors,once the preventive medicine is available for the state, official sources said on Wednesday. Training programmes for almost 10,000 vaccinators were underway and storage facilities for the doses being set up at strategic locations.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 478 fresh COVID-19 cases, 715 recoveries in AP

Andhra Pradesh reported 478 fresh COVID-19 cases, 715 recoveries and three deaths in 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday. With this, the total positives so far went up to 8,76,814, gross recoveries to 8,65,327 and deaths to 7,067. The latest bulletin said 4,420 cases remained active in the state now. A total of 1.10 crore sample tests were also completed on Wednesday, which resulted in an overall infection positivity of 7.97 per cent.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Dharavi reports three fresh COVID-19 cases

Dharavi slum colony in Mumbai on Wednesday reported three new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of infections to 3,763 and that of active cases to 12, a city civic body official said. He said 3,439 of the total 3,763 patients have been recovered from the COVID-19 disease and discharged from hospitals.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: London enters highest COVID-19 alert as UK reviews other lockdown tiers

The UK government is reviewing the tiered lockdown allocations for different parts of the country as scheduled by law on Wednesday, even as millions of more people in and around London moved into the highest alert level of Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions after a worrying spike in infections. With the addition of the UK capital and surrounding areas of Essex and Hertfordshire to Tier 3, or near complete lockdown, around 61 per cent of England's population is now living under the toughest lockdown rules which impose a ban on inter-household mingling indoors and a closure of all restaurants and bars except for takeaways and deliveries.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Saudi Arabia plans spending cuts to trim deficit amid virus

Saudi Arabia plans to cut more than 7 percent in spending next year, the finance ministry said, as the regions biggest oil producer seeks to trim a gaping budget deficit amid the coronavirus pandemic and falling oil prices. The kingdom expects its deficit to hit $79.4 billion this year, according to a government budget statement released late Tuesday, an estimated 12 percent of the country's gross domestic product. By slashing spending to $264 billion next year, it hopes to bring its deficit down to 4.9 percent of the country's economic output.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Nepal's iconic Pashupatinath Temple opens with safety protocols after 9 months

Nepal's iconic Pashupatinath Temple, the 5th century holy Hindu shrine, opened for pilgrims on Wednesday after being closed for nine months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pashupatinath Temple is the largest temple complex in Nepal and stretches on both sides of the Bagmati River and sees thousands of worshippers from Nepal and India daily. Hundreds of devotees queued up at the southern entrance gate of the complex on Wednesday, seeking to enter the revered Shiva temple. The devotees need to compulsorily wear a face mask, sanitise their hands at the main entrance before passing through a separate room installed with automatic cameras that record their temperature.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Odisha reports 407 new COVID-19 cases, 5 more deaths

Odisha reported 407 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the tally to 3,24,796, a Health Department official said. Five more deaths raised the toll to 1,820, he said. Of the new cases, 236 were reported from different quarantine centres. Sundergarh recorded the highest 62 new cases, followed by Angul (60) and Khurda (46).

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Odisha reports 407 new COVID-19 cases, 5 more deaths

Odisha reported 407 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the tally to 3,24,796, a Health Department official said. Five more deaths raised the toll to 1,820, he said. Of the new cases, 236 were reported from different quarantine centres. Sundergarh recorded the highest 62 new cases, followed by Angul (60) and Khurda (46).

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: UK and India to accelerate collaboration on vaccines, CNBC-TV18 reports

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab met PM Modi to welcome UK and India’s collaboration on COVID19. New virtual UK-India Vaccines Hub announced to help in COVID response. Vaccine hub to help British and Indian experts to share knowledge on trials, regulatory approvals and vaccine distribution.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: COVID-19 patients at five times higher risk of death than those with flu: Study

COVID-19 is associated with a higher need for ventilators, more admissions into intensive care units (ICUs), and nearly five times the risk of death among hospitalized patients than those suffering from the flu, according to a study. Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in the US noted that although both COVID-19 and the flu attack the lungs, the former viral disease can also damage other organs. The latest study, published in The BMJ, shows that COVID-19 was linked with an increased risk of conditions such as acute kidney and liver damage, as well as heart disorders, stroke, severe septic shock, low blood pressure, excessive blood clotting and new-onset diabetes. "Many high-profile, public comparisons between COVID-19 and the flu have been made; however, those comparisons mostly were drawn using disparate data and statistical methods that have resulted in a lot of conjecture," said senior study author Ziyad Al-Aly, an assistant professor at Washington University.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Daily deaths in India are on a sustained decline

Daily deaths in India are decline consistently, less than 500 daily deaths have been registered in the last 11 days. India's active caseload too continues to decline and stands at 3.32 lakh. Since the past 17 days, the country has recorded less than 40,000 new cases. In the last 24 hours, some 26,382 people tested positive. India has recorded one of the lowest new cases per million population in the last seven days. Per the Press Information Bureau, 76.43 percent and 75.19 percent new cases and deaths, respectively, are concentrated in 10 states/UTs. Kerala followed by Maharashtra and West Bengal report highest new cases daily.

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: The UK still plans to ease restrictions on holiday gatherings

Britain's easing of restrictions for family gatherings over Christmas looks like it's still on despite a sharp spike in new coronavirus infections in the last few weeks that's raised fears of a new wave of infections and deaths in the new year. Britain's communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, said further discussions will take place on Wednesday between leaders from the four nations of the U.K. about the planned relaxation. However, he gave no indication that a change would be announced, beyond urging people to think harder about their holiday plans.

Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Democratic push on COVID-19 aid welcomed by some in Georgia

As Congress bargains over more financial relief during the coronavirus pandemic, some of the hundreds of thousands of Georgians who are casting ballots for the Jan. 5 runoffs that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate are calling for action.

Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Should COVID cancel Christmas? UK says it is a personal decision

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government thinks people should make their own personal decision about gathering for Christmas but they should also consider the COVID19 risks to the vulnerable, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said.

Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Hospital beds run short in St Petersburg as COVID vaccine delivered across Russia

St Petersburg is running dangerously low on hospital beds for COVID19 patients, city authorities said, as deliveries of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine began on Wednesday across the country.

Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Malaysia invokes emergency to stop by-elections as COVID-19 cases rise

Malaysia's government on Wednesday declared a state of emergency to stop byelections in two constituencies scheduled for next month, as the country grapples with a spike in coronavirus cases over the past few months.

Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Indonesia pledges free COVID-19 vaccines, with president first in line

Indonesia will provide free coronavirus vaccines to its citizens when the world’s fourth most populous nation starts its inoculation programme, President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday, adding he would get the first shot to reassure people on safety.

Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Hospital beds run short in St Petersburg as COVID vaccine delivered across Russia

St Petersburg is running dangerously low on hospital beds for COVID19 patients, city authorities said, as deliveries of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine began on Wednesday across the country.