Coronavirus LIVE: Delhi may see 15K new cases per day in winters, says NCDC

Coronavirus update: Maharashtra has 1,480,489 coronavirus cases, Andhra Pradesh 734,427, Karnataka 668,652, Tamil Nadu 635,855 and UP 420,937. Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE update

11:55 PM

Delhi needs to be prepared for around 15K new Covid cases per day in winter months: NCDC report

Delhi needs to be prepared for about 15,000 fresh cases of Covid-19 per day taking into account the upcoming winter season-related respiratory problems, large influx of patients from outside and festive gatherings, a report drafted by the NCDC has warned.
 

The report drafted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under the guidance of the expert group under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul has recommended the Delhi government to make arrangements for hospitalisation of about one-fifth of these patients with moderate and severe disease.

11:08 PM

WHO reports record one-day rise in global coronavirus cases, up over 338,000

The World Health Organization reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases on Thursday, with the total rising by 338,779 in 24 hours.

Deaths rose by 5,514 to a total of 1.05 million.
 

India reported 78,524 new cases, followed by Brazil at 41,906 and the United States with 38,904 new infections.
 

The previous WHO record for new cases was 330,340 on Oct. 2.

9:09 PM

Doctors warn Mamata of massive Covid-19 spike in Bengal post Durga puja

Expressing concern over the unrelenting surge in Covid-19 cases in Bengal, doctors here have written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, urging her to take stricter measures to restrict public gathering during Durga puja, as it might "lead to a tsunami" of infections.

BR Satpati, an advisor at the health department and member of the state's Covid-19 expert committee, however, asserted that the government was taking requisite measures to ensure people's safety.

Members of Joint Platform of Doctors, in their letter to Banerjee, referred to the steep rise in coronavirus cases in Kerala after the recent Onam festival, and a similar situation in Spain following International Women's Day celebrations and a football match to make their point.

8:37 PM

1,715 new coronavirus cases in Madhya Pradesh, 29 deaths, 2,420 recoveries

Madhya Pradesh on Thursday recorded 1,715 new coronavirus cases which pushed its caseload to 1,42,022, a health official said.

With 29 fatalities, the death toll reached 2,547, he added.

8:25 PM

Maharashtra reports 13,395 Covid-19 cases, 15,575 recoveries

Maharashtra reported 13,395 new Covid-19 cases, taking its tally to 14,93,884 on Thursday, while the toll rose to 39,430 after 58 more patients succumbed to the infection, said a state health department official.

A total of 15,575 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the tally of recovered people to 12,12,016, he said.

With this, the state now has 2,41,986 active cases, the official said.

8:02 PM

Shutting down schools increases Covid-19 deaths: UK study

Shutting down schools during the coronavirus pandemic could result in more overall deaths in the long term than keeping them open, according to a new analysis released on Thursday of the data that informed the UK government's decision on lockdown back in March.

The study, led by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, also revealed that social distancing is a more effective tool at reducing deaths when only employed by people over 70, compared with being used for the general population.

In the short term, closing schools contributed to reducing the severity of the first wave, to the extent that (emergency) Nightingale hospitals were not needed, but the decision has left us more vulnerable to subsequent waves of infection, said Professor Graeme Ackland, the lead author from Edinburgh University's School of Physics and Astronomy.

7:53 PM

Nagpur records 746 new Covid-19 cases; 20 casualties

With the detection of 746 new Covid-19 cases, the count of infections in Maharashtra's Nagpur district rose to 84,827 on Thursday, an official said.

At least 20 patients died of the disease, taking the toll to 2,724, of which Nagpur city alone accounted for 1,971 casualties, the official said.

The number of recoveries in the district rose to 72,614, after 1,012 patients were discharged from various hospitals, he said.

7:19 PM

Covid-19 testing camps set up for staff of Aurangabad hotels

The civic body in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city has set up testing camps to detect coronavirus infection among staff of hotels, bars and restaurants in the city.

RT-PCR tests will be conducted at the camps, which will continue for the next three days, said Dr Neeta Padalkar, health officer of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation.

7:09 PM

President urges citizens to stand united to defeat Covid-19 through collective determination, discipline

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday urged citizens to stand united to defeat coronavirus through collective determination and discipline.

He also asked them to wear masks, wash hands and practice social distancing.

"The nation stands united to defeat Covid-19 through collective determination and discipline. I urge fellow citizens to #Unite2FightCorona! Let us all - Wear a mask, Wash hands, Practice social distancing. Together we will fight, we will win!," Kovind tweeted.

6:46 PM

3,376 fresh Covid-19 cases in UP; 45 more die

Uttar Pradesh recorded 3,376 new Covid-19 cases taking the infection tally to 4,27,459 on Thursday, while 45 coronavirus fatalities pushed the state's death toll to 6,245, a health bulletin said.

Lucknow reported the maximum fresh cases at 403, followed by 189 each in Prayagraj and Ghaziabad and 180 in Gorakhpur, among other districts, it said.

According to Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal, 3,690 more Covid-19 patients were discharged from different hospitals after they recovered from the infection, and the total number recoveries in the state now stands at 3,78,662.

The recovery rate of Uttar Pradesh is now over 88 per cent, he added.

6:37 PM

Arunachal CM discusses Covid-19 strategy with health dept

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday urged the health department to make best use of the available manpower and ensure optimal utilisation of funds to fight against Covid-19.

Addressing officials of the department to discuss a strategy for containing the spread of COVID-19, the chief minister said that health of people is the top priority of the government and all manpower and resources would be mobilised accordingly, an official communiqu said.

6:33 PM

Delhi's COVID-19 case tally goes past 3 lakh; death toll climbs to 5,653

With 2,726 fresh cases, Delhi's Covid-19 tally crossed the three-lakh mark on Thursday, while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 5,653 with 37 fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours.

According to a health bulletin issued by the Delhi government, 53,322 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours.

The case tally stands at 3,00,833 in the national capital, including 2,72,948 patients who have either been discharged, or have migrated or recovered.

The number of active cases is 22,232, of which 12,890 are in home isolation.

6:18 PM

Mumbai's slum area Dharavi records 8 new Covid-19 cases

Mumbai's slum locality Dharavi reported eight new Covid-19 cases, the lowest daily count in nearly two weeks, taking its tally to 3,300 on Thursday, the city civic body said.

According to a senior BMC official, 2,820 Covid-19 patients from Dharavi have already recovered and discharged from hospitals.

The densely populated slum-dominated area has only 187 active Covid-19 patients at present, the official said.

6:04 PM

5:58 PM

Odisha govt initiates process to open temples, religious places for public

The Odisha government has initiated the process to open temples and other religious places for the public across the State.

According to the state officials, state Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy has asked all the Collectors and concerned authorities to submit a plan of action to the government within 10 days.

"District Collectors asked to consider the possibility of opening up places of worship for the public of all religious faiths, where compliance to extant Covid-19 guidelines and report to Government. They may prefer graded opening in the interest of containing the disease," said Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy.

5:24 PM

WHO awaits China's nod on list of experts to probe origin of coronavirus

The World Health Organization (WHO) has given Beijing a list of global experts to be part of the international investigation team to be sent to China to probe the origin of the coronavirus and is awaiting its approval, according to a media report on Thursday.

In May, the annual meeting of World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the Geneva-based WHO currently headed by India, passed a unanimous resolution to probe the origin of the virus. China also backed the resolution.

In August, a two-member team from the WHO which visited China completed the groundwork for the probe into the animal source and reservoirs of the COVID-19 which first emerged in Wuhan in December last year and later became a global pandemic, creating the worst health crisis across the world.

5:13 PM

4:39 PM

Indian-origin researchers use bovine adenovirus to develop Covid vax

A team of Indian-origin researchers in the US is working to develop a unique Covid-19 vaccine that uses a bovine adenovirus that will protect all segments of the population, especially older adults.

Bovine Adenovirus, also known as BAdV, is a member of the Adenoviridae family that causes disease in cattle.

"Adenoviral vectors have emerged as a promising gene-delivery platform for a variety of therapeutic and vaccine purposes during the last two decades," said study author Suresh Kuchipudi from Penn State University in the US.

4:27 PM

4:27 PM

Amit Shah appeals to everyone to follow PM's public movement against Covid-19

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday appealed to everyone to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public movement against Covid-19 and said a global pandemic can be fought only when all the countrymen come together.

Shah also said there are only three mantras to protect ourselves from the coronavirus -- wearing a mask, practising two meters of social distancing and washing hands frequently -- as suggested by the prime minister.

4:06 PM

Covid-19: UP, Bihar fared better than Delhi, Maharashtra

The analysis of Covid-19 shows rich states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka have done worse than poor states like UP, Bihar and Rajasthan, according to a research by State Bank of India.

The report said that on an average, rich states having better health infrastructure have done worse than poor states having even poor health infrastructure.

The results are significant and shows that states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka have badly managed the Covid-19 situation as per SBI model estimated number of cases after taking population into account are less than actual cases. 

3:57 PM

Restrictions for rallies relaxed, masks mandatory: MP minister

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Thursday said in its fresh set of Covid-19 guidelines, the Union Home Ministry has relaxed the restriction on gathering of more than 100 people at political rallies.

Speaking to reporters here, the minister, however, said use of masks, sanitisers and social distancing will continue as before.

"As per the Union Home Ministry, the restriction on gathering of more than 100 persons at a political rally has been relaxed. But use of masks, sanitisers and social distancing will continue as usual," Mishra said.

3:49 PM

Govt to map out cold chain storage facilities for Covid-19 vaccine delivery

With the likelihood of a vaccine against coronavirus being available within months, the government has begun a massive exercise to map out cold chain storage facilities to ensure the vaccine is delivered quickly across the country.

A national expert group is talking to public and private sector entities in the pharmaceutical sector, food processing industry and agro businesses as well as food delivery start-ups such as Swiggy and Zomato to identify cold storages or fridges at the taluka level that can stock and distribute the vaccine, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions said.

A draft scheme for the vaccine distribution is likely to be released around the middle of next week, they said.

3:31 PM

UP CM inaugurates UP's biggest oxygen plant to aid medical supplies

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Thursday inaugurated a new state-of-the-art cryogenic oxygen plant, the biggest in the state, which will help with supplies in hospitals.

 

The ultra-high purity air separation plant with a capacity of 150 tonnes per days (TPD) in Ghaziabad's Modinagar will produce liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen and liquid argon, according to INOX Air Products (INOX AP), which has commissioned the plant.

3:22 PM

Covid-19: Karnataka CM to hold meeting to discuss school reopening issue

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Primary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar will hold a virtual meeting on Thursday to discuss the reopening of school amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

As per the Chief Minister's Office, there will be no sudden decision to reopen schools, and a final decision will be taken only after the assigned committee submits a report with suggestions to reopen schools.

The meeting will further discuss how district administrations are handling the coronavirus.

3:11 PM

Symptoms poor marker for Covid-19 infections, UK study finds

Nearly 86 per cent of people who tested positive for Covid-19 during lockdown did not have any of the known coronavirus symptoms such as cough, fever and loss of taste or smell, a new UK study revealed on Thursday.

The University College London (UCL) authors behind the analysis, published in Clinical Epidemiology', conclude that a more widespread testing programme is therefore needed to catch silent transmission.

The fact that so many people who tested positive were asymptomatic on the day of a positive test result calls for a change to future testing strategies. More widespread testing will help to capture silent' transmission and potentially prevent future outbreaks, said Professor Irene Petersen, from UCL Epidemiology & Health Care.

3:07 PM

Europe buys 500,000 courses of Gilead's remdesivir amid supply worries

Gilead Sciences said on Thursday it had agreed to sell Europe up to 500,0000 courses of its antiviral drug remdesivir, as the continent scrambles to shore up supplies of one of only two drugs approved to treat Covid-19 patients.

 

The deal will cover purchases of the drug for the next six months for the 27-nation European Union, Britain, six Balkan countries and the other European Economic Area countries - Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

2:17 PM

35 states/UTs conducting more than 140 COVID-19 tests/day/million population; positivity rate at 8.19%: Govt

Thirty-five states and Union territories in the country are performing more than 140 COVID-19 tests per day per million population, while 22 states and UTs have Covid-19 positivity rate less than the national average, the health ministry said on Thursday.

The cumulative positivity rate stands at 8.19 per cent, it said.

The national average of Covid-19 tests per day per million population is 865, the ministry said, asserting that the country has demonstrated an exponential increase in the Covid-19 testing infrastructure since January 2020.

"As evidence has revealed, higher number of testing on a sustained basis has aided in bringing down the positivity rate. The sharp decline in national cumulative positivity rate has demonstrated that the rate of spread of infection is being contained," the ministry underlined.

The country's testing capacities have multiplied manifolds. More than 15 lakh samples can be tested every day, it said.

2:00 PM

European Commission reaches deal for remdesivir

The European Commission says it has sealed a deal with pharmaceutical company Gilead to buy 500,000 treatment courses of remdesivir.

No treatment has yet proved able to prevent serious illness after a coronavirus infection but the antiviral drug also known by its commercial name Veklury has helped some Covid-19 patients recover faster.

1:58 PM

Hard-hit Peru's costly bet on cheap Covid-19 antibody tests

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the harried health officials of Peru faced a quandary. They knew molecular tests for COVID-19 were the best option to detect the virus yet they didn't have the labs, the supplies, or the technicians to make them work.

But there was a cheaper alternative -- antibody tests, mostly from China, that were flooding the market at a fraction of the price and could deliver a positive or negative result within minutes of a simple fingerstick.