With that it's a wrap to the LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic for today. 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: Nepal reports 403 new coronavirus cases
Nepal reported 403 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the country's virus caseload to 266,546, according to official data on Thursday. In a statement, the Ministry of Health and Population said six virus-related deaths were also reported in the same period. Among the new cases, 246 were reported from the Kathmandu Valley. Currently, there are 4,426 active coronavirus cases in Nepal. In total, the Himalayan nation has reported 266,546 COVID-19 cases, of which 260,177 people have recovered, registering a recovery rate of 97.6 per cent. The virus death stands at 1,943.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Mumbai reports 607 COVID-19 cases, 789 recoveries; 9 die
Mumbai reported 607 new COVID-19 cases and nine fresh fatalities on Thursday, while 789 people recovered from the infection, the city civic body said. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) updated data, with new cases the COVID-19 tally reached 3,01,078, while the death toll increased to 11,219. On Wednesday, the tally of cases in Mumbai had surpassed the 3 lakh-mark after 675 people tested positive for the infection. According to the civic body, it conducted 15,667 tests in the last 24 hours, taking the number of COVID-19 tests done so far to 25,49,307. The count of recovered patients in the city increased to 2,81,642, about 93 per cent of the total tally, with 789 more people getting discharged from hospitals, it said. Mumbai has 7,332 active cases at present.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: German vaccine institute praises efficacy of Astra-Oxford vaccine
The head of Germany's vaccine regulator on Thursday described the success rate of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine as excellent, after some Australian scientists voiced scepticism about its efficacy. Speaking during an online press briefing, the president of Germany's Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), Klaus Cichutek, said there had been some debate over the best usage pattern for the vaccine. "Still, the efficacy remains outstanding and excellent," he said, citing data. The AstraZeneca shot, co-developed with Oxford University, was shown in a trial to have efficacy of at least 62%, with Britain's healthcare regulator identifying an efficacy of 80% under a certain administration pattern. That compares with efficacy of around 95% for vaccines developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech as well as by Moderna.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: 109 people test positive for UK variant of coronavirus
The number of people who have tested positive for the new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the country has climbed to 109, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday "The total number of persons found infected with the new UK variant genome stands at 109 today," the ministry said. All these people have been kept in single room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by respective state governments, the ministry had said earlier. Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on, the ministry said. The situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the states for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing anddispatch of samples to INSACOG labs.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Russia to submit Sputnik V vaccine for EU approval, says RDIF chief
Russia will submit a formal application to the European Union next month for approval of its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund said on Thursday. Peer-reviewed results of the vaccine would be released shortly and would demonstrate its high efficacy, fund chief Kirill Dmitriev said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference. He said Sputnik V would be produced in seven countries. He added that regulators in nine countries are expected to approve the vaccine for domestic use this month. It has already been approved in Argentina, Belarus, Serbia and elsewhere. Russia, which has the world's fourth-highest number of COVID-19 cases, plans to begin mass vaccinations next week.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: COVID-19 infection gives some immunity, but virus can still be spread, study finds
People who have had COVID-19 are highly likely to have immunity to it for at least five months, but there is evidence that those with antibodies may still be able to carry and spread the virus, a study of British healthcare workers has found. Preliminary findings by scientists at Public Health England (PHE) showed that reinfections in people who have COVID-19 antibodies from a past infection are rare - with only 44 cases found among 6,614 previously infected people in the study. But experts cautioned that the findings mean people who contracted the disease in the first wave of the pandemic in the early months of 2020 may now be vulnerable to catching it again.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: 13 WHO scientists arrive in Wuhan to probe COVID-19 origins; 2 barred after testing positive
Thirteen international experts of the WHO arrived in Wuhan on Thursday for the long-awaited probe into the origins of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, while two others did not board the flight from Singapore to the central Chinese city after they tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. The international team of 13 scientists examining the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19 arrived in Wuhan, China, today. The experts will begin their work immediately during the 2 weeks quarantine protocol for international travellers, the World Health Organisation said in a tweet. Two scientists are still in Singapore completing tests for COVID19. All team members had multiple negative PCR and antibody tests for COVID-19 in their home countries prior to travelling, it said. They were tested again in Singapore and were all negative for PCR. But two members tested positive for IgM antibodies. They are being retested for both IgM and IgG antibodies, the WHO said.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Pakistan sees biggest jump in COVID-19 cases in nearly a month
Pakistan on Thursday reported 3,097 new COVID-19 cases, the highest number in about a month, pushing the total number of infections in the country to 511,921. The country also reported 46 more deaths, taking the coronavirus toll to 10,818. The surge came as Sindh province reported 1,769 cases in the last 24 hours, according to the Ministry of National Health Services.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: 32 new cases push Nagaland's COVID-19 tally to 12,035
Nagaland's COVID-19 tally rose to 12,035 on Thursday as 32 more people tested positive for the infection, Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom said. Four more patients have also recovered from the disease, he said. Nagaland now has 124 active coronavirus cases, while 11,685 people have recovered from the disease and 140 patients have migrated to other states so far. The state's coronavirus death toll stands at 86, a health bulletin said. Dimapur has the highest number of active cases at 68, followed by Kohima (44) and Mokokchung (7), it said. Nagaland has so far conducted over 1.22 lakh COVID-19 tests, including 72,791 RT-PCR, 36,901 TrueNat and 12,886 rapid antigen tests, the bulletin said.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: COVID-19 infection gives some immunity, but virus can still be spread, study finds
People who have had COVID-19 are highly likely to have immunity to it for at least five months, but there is evidence that those with antibodies may still be able to carry and spread the virus, a study of British healthcare workers has found. Preliminary findings by scientists at Public Health England (PHE) showed that reinfections in people who have COVID-19 antibodies from a past infection are rare - with only 44 cases found among 6,614 previously infected people in the study. But experts cautioned that the findings mean people who contracted the disease in the first wave of the pandemic in the early months of 2020 may now be vulnerable to catching it again.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Nagpur division receives 1.14 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine
Maharashtra's Nagpur division received its first consignment of 1.14 lakh doses of Covishield vaccine in the early hours of Thursday, an official said. The vaccines will be administered in 34 centres in Nagpur division, which includes Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Nagpur and Wardha districts, the official said. According to the district information office, the vaccine doses have been dispatched to Bhandara (9,500), Chandrapur (20,000), Gadchiroli (12,000), Gondia (10,000), Nagpur (42,000) and Wardha (20,500) from Nagpur. A total of 93,309 health workers have been registered for inoculation in Nagpur division, it was stated.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: All set for COVID vaccination roll-out; jabs four times a week says Delhi CM
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the Delhi government is fully prepared for the COVID-19 vaccination roll-out starting January 16, with over 8,000 healthcare workers to be immunised every scheduled day in the city. Addressing an online media briefing, he said the city government has received a total of 2.74 lakh doses of the vaccine so far from the Centre, which would be sufficient to cater to 1.2 lakh healthcare workers. "Every person will receive two doses, and the Centre has given 10 per cent extra in stock in case of any mishappening like damage of vials. There are a total of 2.4 lakh healthcare workers in Delhi who have registered for vaccination, and more doses are expected to arrive soon," he said.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Serum Institute expects WHO emergency approval for AstraZeneca shot soon
The Serum Institute of India expects WHO emergency-use authorization soon for the Oxford University/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, which it is producing for mid and low income countries, its chief executive said. "The emergency use licensure from the WHO (World Health Organization) should be available and coming through in the next week or two, hopefully, because we have submitted everything," Adar Poonawalla told the Reuters Next conference on Thursday. Poonawalla also said his company, the world's biggest vaccine maker, would start stockpiling millions of doses of the Novavax coronavirus vaccine candidate from around April. "It will be upwards of 40-50 million doses per month is what we are trying to stockpile of the Novavax product," he said.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: 506 new COVID-19 cases take UP's tally to 5,95,142, death toll at 8,543
The COVID-19 death toll in Uttar Pradesh rose to 8,543 on Thursday with 14 more fatalities, while 506 new cases pushed the infection tally to 5,95,142, an official here said. "The number of active cases in the state stands at 10,080, of which 3,746 are under home isolation. So far, 5,76,519 people have recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals," Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters here. He said in the past 24 hours, 506 new cases have been reported and 539 people have been discharged after recovery. The death toll stands at 8,543, Prasad said.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Ad5-Ncov shows high antibody levels at Russian trials
Russian pharmaceutical company Petrovax on Thursday said 92.5% of Russian volunteers in trials of the Chinese Ad5-Ncov vaccine against COVID-19 had shown high levels of antibodies, the Interfax news agency reported. Ad5-nCoV is a candidate vaccine co-developed by CanSino Biologics and a Chinese military-backed research unit.
Coronavirus News LIVE updates: COVID-19 vaccine reaches all 24 districts of Jharkhand
Around 1.62 lakh COVID-19 vaccine has reached all the 24 districts of Jharkhand for the scheduled first phase of the vaccination drive on January 16, a top Health department official said on Thursday. In the first phase of the vaccination drive, the vaccines will be administered to state healthcare workers in 129 vaccination centres, the official said. Principal Secretary, Health, Dr Nitin Madan Kulkarni said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: India records less than 20,000 new COVID cases daily since last 7 days, says Health ministry
The ongoing trend of contraction of India's daily new COVID-19 cases continued with the country recording less than 20,000 daily new infections since the last seven days, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. In a span of 24 hours, only 16,946 people were found to be infected with COVID-19 in India. In the same period, the country also registered 17,652 new recoveries ensuring a net decline of 904 cases in the active caseload, the ministry said. Daily deaths due to coronavirus infection in India are on a sustained decline. Less than 300 daily deaths have been registered for the last 20 days, the ministry highlighted.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: PM Modi to launch COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the rollout of India's COVID-19 vaccination programme on January 16, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. He is likely to interact via video link with some healthcare workers from across the country who will be receiving the shots on the first day, according to sources. Modi is also likely to launch the Co-WIN (COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network) App, a digital platform created for real-time monitoring of COVID-19 vaccine delivery and distribution, they said. The health ministry said, "The massive countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive will be rolled out by Prime Minister from January 16. This would be the world's largest immunisation exercise. Therefore, it has been decided by the Ministry of Health in consultation with the office of the President of India to reschedule the Polio vaccination day, also known as the National Immunisation Day (NID) or 'Polio Ravivar' to 31st January."
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Odisha reports 222 new COVID-19 cases, 1 fresh fatality
Odisha's COVID-19 tally rose to 3,32,763 on Thursday as 222 more people tested positive for the infection, while one fresh fatality pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 1,896, a health official said. As many as 127 new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while 95 fresh infections were detected during contact tracing, he said. Angul district registered the highest number of new cases at 28, followed by Sundergarh (24) and Jharsuguda (23) districts, the official. Fifty-three patients have died due to comorbidities so far, he said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Telangana's daily Covid count drops below 300
The daily count of Covid-19 cases in Telangana dropped below 300, health officials said on Thursday. A total of 276 new cases were reported during the last 24 hours, taking the state's tally to 2,90,916, officials said. One more person succumbed to the virus, taking the death toll to 1,572. According to the director of public health and family welfare, the fatality rate remained 0.54 percent against the national average of 1.4 percent. While 44.96 percent of the deaths occurred due to Covid, 55.04 percent had comorbidities. The state also saw 238 recoveries during the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative number of recoveries to 2,84,849.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Madhya Pradesh sees 456 new COVID-19 cases, 655 recoveries, 6 die
Madhya Pradesh's COVID-19 tally on Wednesday crossed the 2.50 lakh-mark and reached 2,50,009 with the addition of 456 fresh cases, a health official said. With six more people succumbing to the viral infection, the overall death toll rose to 3,732, he said. A total of 655 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative number of recoveries in Madhya Pradesh to 2,38,983.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Karnataka logs 746 fresh COVID-19 cases and three deaths
Karnataka on Wednesday reported 746 new coronavirus cases and three deaths, taking the infection count to 9,29,552 and toll to 12,152. The number of patients infected with the UK strain of the coronavirus increased to 13 with two more cases detected, the health department said. It said 46 UK returnees and 26 of their primary contacts have tested positive for COVID-19 till date. There were as many as 1,13,515 tests done on Wednesday including 1,06,592 using the RT-PCR and other methods taking the total tests done so far to 1.56 crore, the department added.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Rajasthan 373 fresh COVID-19 cases, 3 more deaths; infection tally at 3,14,091
Rajasthan recorded three more fatalities due to novel coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the COVID-19 death toll in the state to 2,742, a health department bulletin said. The state also reported 373 fresh cases on Wednesday. The total number of people infected by COVID-19 now stands at 3,14,091, out of whom, 5,780 are under treatment, it said. As per the bulletin, 3,05,569 people have been discharged after treatment till now. So far, 509 people have died in Jaipur, 298 in Jodhpur, 221 in Ajmer, 168 in Kota, 167 in Bikaner, 120 in Bharatpur, 112 in Udaipur, 109 in Pali and 100 in Sikar. Out of the 373 fresh cases, 72 were reported in Jaipur, 36 in Kota, 29 each in Bhilwara and Ajmer, 26 each in Jodhpur and Nagaur, 22 in Dungarpur, 21 in Udaipur besides the cases reported in other districts of the state, the bulletin added.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: West Bengal's COVID-19 toll climbs to 9,993, tally at 5,62,795
The COVID-19 toll in West Bengal mounted to 9,993 after 18 more people succumbed to the virus on Wednesday, the health department said. The coronavirus tally rose to 5,62,795 with 723 fresh cases, it said. The discharge rate improved to 96.93 percent after 794 recoveries were reported in the state since Tuesday. Altogether, 5,45,499 patients have so far been cured of the disease. North 24 Parganas accounted for six deaths, while the city registered five fatalities, Nadia (3), South 24 Parganas (2) and Hooghly (1), it said.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Three new COVID-19 cases push Andamans tally at 4,969
Three more persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, pushing the tally in the Union Territory to 4,969, a health official said on Thursday. The fresh cases were detected during contact tracing, he said. The death toll remained at 62 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Jharkhand reports 152 new COVID-19 cases, tally rises to 1,17,240
Jharkhand's COVID-19 tally rose to 1,17,240 as 152 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Thursday. The coronavirus death toll remained at 1,048 in the state as no new fatality due to the infection was reported in the last 24 hours, he said. The new cases include 77 from Ranchi district, East Singhbhum (15) and Hazaribag (12), he said. Jharkhand now has 1,356 active coronavirus cases, while 1,14,836 people have recovered from the disease so far, the official said. The state has tested 11,771 samples for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, he added.
Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: WHO experts arrive in Wuhan to probe origins of COVID-19 pandemic
A team of World Health Organisation scientists arrived in Wuhan on Thursday to investigate the origins of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, which emerged from the central Chinese city in December 2019 before engulfing the entire world. The WHO experts arrived in Wuhan for the COVID-19 origin mission, Chinese official media reported. The team, reportedly consisting of ten specialists, directly flew from Singapore.
