Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: UNICEF chief sees H1 "crush" in COVID-19 vaccine demand easing in H2
The U.N. Children's Fund, the largest single buyer of vaccines in the world, expects a "crush" of demand for COVID19 vaccines in the first year, with supplies only loosening in the second half, UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore said on Friday. #Reuters
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Goa sees 78 COVID-19 cases, 1 death, 103 recoveries
Goa's coronavirus caseload went up by 78 and reached 53,263 on Friday, while the toll increased by one to touch 766, an official said. The number of people who have been discharged stood at 51,755, including 103 on Friday, leaving the state with 742 active cases, he added.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 468 new COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, 2 deaths
Karnataka logged 468 fresh COVID-19 cases and two more deaths, taking the total infection count to 9,38,401 and the toll to 12,211, the Health Department said on Friday. The day also saw 607 patients getting discharged after recovery.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Dr Reddy's eyes to launch Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19 under EUA in March
Dr Reddy's Laboratories, which is conducting Phase 3 trials of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, believes the jab is expected to be launched in India through Emergency Use Authorisation, a senior official of the city-based drug maker said on Friday. "The phase 3 (trial) is currently ongoing. We are dosing patients and we expect to complete the dosing as part of the phase 3 by February. "After that we expect to compile the data and submit for Emergency Use Authorisation, make the request to the DCGI with our dossier," company's CEO of APIs and Pharmaceutical Services Deepak Sapra said. In September last, Dr. Reddy's partnered with Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to conduct the clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine and for its distribution rights in India.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 18,855 fresh COVID-19 cases in India, most from Chhattisgarh due to 'data reconciliation'
India has added 18,855 fresh COVID-19 cases in a span of 24 hours, a jump from the previous day's count of 11,666, with Chhattisgarh alone adding 6,451 cases because of a data reconciliation process, the Union Health ministry said on Friday. The country's COVID-19 tally is now 1,07,20,048, Chhattisgarh has reported 6,451 cases, 6,479 discharges and 35 deaths. "The jump in figures, according to the State Health Department, is due to the reconciliation of district level and state level case, discharge and death figures," ministry said. India's death toll due to the viral disease in the country has climbed to 1,54,010 with 163 more fatalities, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 1,03,94,352, pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.96 per cent, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.44 per cent.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: COVID-19 pandemic far from over, new variants worrying: Singapore PM
The COVID-19 pandemic is far from being quelled even with the availability of vaccines as new variants of the virus are worrying and further mutations will surely emerge, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday. "Until a large part of the population is vaccinated, we need strong public health measures everywhere to keep people safe," Loong said in a special address to the World Economic Forum's virtual Davos Agenda Summit. He also noted that governments will "come under more pressure to adopt protectionist and nativist positions." Loong said it is critical that vaccines are rolled out quickly all over the world, but even with vaccines, the pandemic is far from over. He further said globalisation was under pressure even before the pandemic, while initial reactions to the crisis seemed to herald its demise, as countries scrambled to secure vital equipment.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Uttar Pradesh accounts for the maximum share of vaccinated beneficiaries
Uttar Pradesh accounts for the maximum share of vaccinated beneficiaries followed by Karnataka and Rajasthan. India's cumulative recoveries have surged to 1,03,94,352. A total 18,855 new daily cases have been recorded in a span of 24 hours whereas 20,746patients have recovered during the same period. Chhattisgarh has reported 6,451 cases, 6,479 discharges and 35 deaths since their last report. The jump in figures, according to the State Health Department, is due to the reconciliation of district level and state level case, discharge and death figures, the ministry said. It said 85.36 percent of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in seven states and UTs. Chhattisgarh has reported the maximum number of single day recoveries with 6,479 newly recovered cases. In Kerala, 5,594 people recovered in a span of 24 hours followed by 3,181 in Maharashtra. The ministry said 85.73 percent of the new cases are from five states and UTs and added Chhattisgarh reported the highest daily new cases at 6,451.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: India's COVID-19 active cases tally contracts to 1.71 lakh; positivity rate drops to 5.50%
Sustaining a downward movement, the tally of India's active COVID-19 cases has dropped to1.71 lakh which is just 1.60 percent of the total infections, while the national cumulative positivity rate has fallen to 5.50 percent, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday. The country's cumulative tests for detection of coronavirus infection has crossed 19.5 crore with 7,42,306 tests being conducted on Thursday. It said 17states and UTs have cases per million lower than the national average. Till 8 AM on January 28, nearly 30 lakh beneficiaries had received anti-coronavirus shots under the countrywide COVID-19 vaccination exercise, it said. In a span of 24 hours, 5,72,060 healthcare workers were vaccinated across10,205 sessions. The ministry said 52,878sessions have been conducted so far.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 70 new cases push Odisha's COVID-19 tally to 3,34,850
Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 3,34,850 on Friday as 70 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said. No fresh fatality was reported in the state for the fourth consecutive day, he said. Forty-two new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while 28 infections were detected during contact tracing, the official said. Nuapada district reported the highest number of new cases at 11, he said. The state now has 1,224 active cases, while 3,31,667 people have recovered, 1,906 patients have succumbed to the infection and 53 died due to comorbidities, the official said. Odisha has so far tested over 70.60 lakh samples, including 24,676 on Thursday, he said. The state has vaccinated over 1.96 lakh health workers so far and the second spell of the first phase of the inoculation drive is underway, Health Department Director Bijay Panigrahi said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Germany expects limited EU approval for AstraZeneca vaccine
Germany’s health minister says he expects the European Union's drug regulator to authorize a further coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca on Friday, but that currently available data may mean it is not recommend for older adults. Jens Spahn said authorities are waiting to see what advice the European Medicines Agency issues with regard to vaccinations for people over 65, and Germany would then adjust its own guidance for doctors in the country. Questions remain about how well the AstraZeneca vaccine protects older people. Only 12% of the participants in the AstraZeneca research were over 55 and they were enrolled later, so there hasn’t been enough time to get results.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Greece delays school reopening plans after COVID-19 infections rise
Greece on Friday postponed plans to reopen all high schools next month following a fresh rise in COVID-19 infections, saying schools in critical "red zones" would continue with distance learning. Athens said last week it would let high schools reopen on Feb. 1 for the first time in more than two months as pressure on its public health system had eased in the last few weeks. Parts of Northern Greece and West Attica are the regions suffering most from a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases, which have doubled since the beginning of the week.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: UNHCR helps with cash assistance 75,000 Afghan refugee families hit by COVID-19 in Pak
UN refugee agency UNHCR has provided emergency cash assistance to 75,000 vulnerable Afghan refugee families that have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan, an official said on Friday. More than 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees are hosted in Pakistan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their ability to work and earn a minimum livelihood, mainly as daily wage earners, has been severely affected."Cash assistance to 75,000 refugee families is about leaving no one behind, as the COVID-19 pandemic does not discriminate," UNHCR Representative in Pakistan Noriko Yoshida said. UNHCR's emergency cash programme has supported a total of 450,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan. One out of every three Afghan refugees has benefitted from this support.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Sri Lanka kicks off coronavirus inoculations with Indian vaccine
Sri Lanka on Friday launched its national coronavirus immunisation campaign by administering the first shots to frontline health workers, soldiers and security personnel, a day after India gifted 500,000 doses of Covishield vaccine to the island nation. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday thanked India for its generosity after he received 500,000 doses of Covishield vaccine donated by the country under the 'Neighbourhood First' policy. Sri Lanka has recorded more than 61,000 coronavirus cases so far with 297 deaths. India is one of the world's biggest drug-makers and an increasing number of countries have already approached it for procuring the coronavirus vaccines. The Oxford-Astrazeneca's Covishield vaccine is manufactured by Serum Institute of India. This has been approved for emergency use by the Sri Lankan government.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 31 new COVID-19 cases push overall tally in Puducherry past
Puducherry registered 31 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours taking the tally past the 39,000 mark, a top Health department official said on Friday. The new cases took the overall tally in the union territory to 39,004, a release from Director of Health and Family Welfare Services S Mohan Kumar said. He said no fresh fatality was reported during the last 24 hours ending 10 AM Friday from any of the four regions- Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. The toll remained at 647, he added. The Health department Director said as many as 27 patients recovered and were discharged during the last 24 hours from hospitals. The number of active cases in the union territory stood at 295. As many as 38,062 patients had recovered and were discharged. Mohan Kumar said 5.70 lakh samples had been tested so far and it was found that 5.27 lakh of them were negative.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Mumbai locals to start from Feb 1 for general public with restricted timings
Mumbai local trains to start full, regular services for the general public from Feb 1st, Uddhav Thackeray said while addressing a live audience. However, timing restrictions will continue. The general public will be allowed to travel before 7 am, between 12 noon and 4 pm, then again after 9 pm. Government of Maharashtra has issued notice to operationalize mission 'Begin Again' for easing of restrictions and phase-wise opening. The mission is expected to remain in force till February 28 for containment of COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, Central Railways had added 204 additional local trains in Mumbai to avoid overcrowding in the state, while giving a green flag to reopen suburban services in Mumbai. Read more.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Goal is to ensure low vaccine prices for low and middle-income countries, says Melinda Gates
In an interview to CNBC-TV18's Archana Shukla, Melinda Gates, co-chair & trustee of Gates Foundation said, "India's role in COVID vaccination has been quite astonishing. With Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech, India has got vaccines being manufactured in India but not just for Indians, India is making sure that they provide vaccine for 9 other countries in South East Asia and vaccine for Brazil. And that is what should be done if we are going to take care of everybody around us and get the global economy back up and running." Speaking about COVID vaccine pricing she said, "The whole goal for the Gates Foundation is to make sure that vaccine prices are low for low and middle income countries. Oxford because it is an academic institution had done amazing scientific work but they had to partner with a pharmaceutical company who actually knew how to bring the vaccine to market. So we and other partners said to them that you need to partner with the right partner that can bring it to market. Then we kept pushing all the pharmaceutical companies to make sure that the prices are equitable and low for low and middle-income countries." Click here to watch the complete interview.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Dubai blamed for virus cases abroad; questions swirl at home
After opening itself to New Year's revelers, Dubai is now being blamed by several countries for spreading the coronavirus abroad, even as questions swirl about the city-state's ability to handle reported record spikes in virus cases. The government's Dubai Media Office says the sheikhdom is doing all it can to handle the pandemic, though it has repeatedly declined to answer questions from The Associated Press about its hospital capacity. After a year of managing the pandemic, we can confidently say the current situation is under control and we have our plans to surge any capacity in the health care system should a need rise, it said. However, Nasser al-Shaikh, Dubai's former finance minister, offered a different assessment Thursday on Twitter and asked authorities to take control of a spiraling caseload. The leadership bases its decisions on recommendations from the team, the wrong recommendations which put human souls in danger and negatively affect our society, he wrote, adding that our economy requires accountability.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 3 new cases push Arunachal's COVID-19 tally to 16,827
Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 16,827 on Friday as three more people, including an Army jawan, tested positive for the infection, a senior health official said. The fresh cases were reported in the Capital Complex region and West Kameng and Changlang districts, State Surveillance Officer Dr Lobsang Jampa said. Three more people have been cured of the disease, taking the recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state to 99.57 per cent, he said. The state now has 15 active cases, while 16,756 people have recovered from the disease and 56 patients have succumbed to the infection so far, he said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: UN chief Antonio Guterres receives COVID-19 vaccine
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and appealed to people to get vaccinated as soon as they can while stressing that nations must ensure the vaccine is available to everyone, everywhere. Guterres, 71, received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine at a New York City public school Thursday. Guterres gestured to make a victory sign as he was administered the shot.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Mizoram reports 1 new COVID-19 case, tally rises to 4,363
Mizoram's COVID-19 tally rose to 4,363 on Friday as a 33-year-old woman tested positive for the infection, a health official said. The infection was detected during a rapid antigen test, he said. The state now has 41 active cases, while 4,313 people have recovered from the disease and nine patients have succumbed to the infection so far, the official said. Mizoram has so far tested over 2.05 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 870 on Thursday, the official said. The administration has so far administered the first dose of the COVID vaccine to 6,728 health workers, including 586 on Thursday, State Immunisation Officer Dr Lalzawmi said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Telangana adds 197 new COVID-19 cases
Telangana recorded 197 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the total positives to nearly 2.94 lakh while two fatalities pushed the toll to 1,596. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 38, followed by Rangareddy and Karimnagar with 13 and 12 respectively, a government bulletin said on Friday providing details as of 8 PM on January 28. The total number of cases stood at 2,94,120 while recoveries were at2,89,987. As many as2,537 patients are under treatment and 31,486 samples were tested on Thursday. Cumulatively, nearly 78 lakh samples have been tested. The samples tested per million population was over 2.09 lakh, the bulletin said. The case fatality rate in the state was 0.54 percent, while it was 1.4 percent at the national level. The recovery rate in Telangana was 98.59 percent, while it was 96.9 percent in the country.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: India extends suspension of international passenger flights, visas till Feb 28
The coronavirus-induced suspension of scheduled international passenger flights has been extended till February 28, aviation regulator DGCA said on Thursday. ”However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation added. READ MORE.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Virus variant from South Africa detected in US for 1st time
A new variant of the coronavirus emerged Thursday in the United States, posing yet another public health challenge in a country already losing more than 3,000 people to COVID-19 every day. The mutated version of the virus, first identified in South Africa, was found in two cases in South Carolina. Public health officials said its almost certain that there are more infections that have not been identified yet. They are also concerned that this version spreads more easily and that vaccines could be less effective against it. The two cases were discovered in adults in different regions of the state and do not appear to be connected. Neither of the people infected has traveled recently, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said Thursday.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Novavax says COVID-19 vaccine 89% effective in UK trial, less in South Africa
Novavax Inc said on Thursday its coronavirus vaccine was 89.3 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 in a trial conducted in the United Kingdom, and was nearly as effective in protecting against the more highly contagious variant first discovered in the UK, according to a preliminary analysis. A mid-stage trial of the vaccine in South Africa, where a troubling new variant of the virus is common, showed 60 percent effectiveness among people who did not have HIV. Novavax is already stockpiling vaccine at six operating manufacturing locations, and said it expects a total of eight plants in seven countries to produce at the rate of 2 billion doses per year, including from the Serum Institute of India. Novavax’s is a more conventional protein-based vaccine, an approach similar to that used by Sanofi to make its Flublok seasonal flu vaccine. The Novavax vaccine works with the company's proprietary Matrix-M adjuvant used to boost its efficacy. READ MORE.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: WHO team to begin face-to-face meetings with China experts
World Health Organization experts are to begin face-to-face meetings with their Chinese counterparts Friday in the central city of Wuhan at the start of the team's long-awaited fact-finding mission into the origins of the coronavirus. Those meetings should be followed by the first field visits in and around the industrial and transport hub on Friday, WHO said on Twitter but did not give further details about the teams agenda. It said the team had already requested detailed underlying data and planned to speak with early responders and some of the first COVID-19 patients. All hypotheses are on the table as the team follows the science in their work to understand the origins of the COVID19 virus, WHO tweeted. As members start their field visits on Friday, they should receive the support, access and the data they need. READ MORE.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Thane district's COVID-19 count rises by 342, death toll by 3
With the addition of 342 coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra has mounted to 2,53,070, an official said on Friday. These cases were reported on Thursday, he said. As the virus claimed the life of three patients, the death toll in the district rose to 6,143. The district's mortality rate is 2.43 per cent, he added. So far, 2,43,495 patients have recuperated from the infection, which took the recovery rate to 96.22 per cent. There are 3,432 active cases in the district at present, the official said. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 45,100, while the death toll is 1,197, another official said. Meanwhile, 22,071 health workers have been vaccinated so far against COVID-19 in Thane district.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Mexico tops 155,000 COVID-19 deaths, may be 3rd highest
Mexico reached 155,145 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 Thursday, which would make it the country with the worlds third-highest total, passing Indias death toll of 153,847. Mexico reported 1,506 newly confirmed deaths Thursday. However, Mexico has an extremely low rate of testing, and estimates of excess deaths suggest the real toll to date is over 195,000. The country also recorded 18,670 newly confirmed infections, bringing the total to 1.82 million. President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, and continues to receive treatment at his apartment in the National Palace. Mexico has so far managed to get only about 760,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines, and is placing its hopes on Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. However, Russia has not yet publicly presented the results of Phase 3 testing, which would yield data on how effective it is.
