Coronavirus LIVE: UK to infect healthy volunteers in vaccine research trial

Coronavirus update: Maharashtra has 1,601,365 coronavirus cases, Andhra Pradesh 786,050, Karnataka 770,604, Tamil Nadu 690,936 and UP 456,865. Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE update

2:04 AM

Moderna CEO targets emergency use for Covid-19 vaccine by December

11:59 PM

Manchester at war as it is dragged into highest Covid-19 Tier in UK

The region of Greater Manchester in northern England remained at war with the central government on Tuesday as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stepped in to forcibly place it within Tier 3 of the strictest Covid-19 lockdown restrictions from later this week.

 

After talks failed over a substantial financial package to support the region's complete temporary shutdown as part of efforts to control the spread of coronavirus, Johnson declared in a briefing from Downing Street that he bitterly regrets the move but was left with no choice as Manchester is among the areas of the country bearing the brunt of the second wave of the virus.

11:58 PM

Covid-19: Delhi Police focus on crowd management at markets during festive season

11:06 PM

Assam reports 9 more coronavirus deaths, 666 new cases

Nine more people succumbed to Covid-19 in Assam on Tuesday taking the death toll to 884, while the state's caseload went up to 202,073 after 666 new infections were detected during the day, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

 

He said that 1,201 patients recovered from the disease and were released from various hospitals and Covid Care Centres. The recovery rate is now 86.31 per cent.

 

Altogether 1,74,411 people have been cured of coronavirus in the state so far.

10:38 PM

41 more Covid-19 deaths in Delhi take toll to 6,081; infection tally 336,000

10:28 PM

WTO members discuss proposal of India, South Africa for easing IP rules for Covid-19

10:17 PM

Private hospital group opens post-Covid recovery clinics

A private hospital group on Tuesday announced opening of post-recovery clinics across its network of facilities to address complications faced by people who have recovered from Covid-19.

 

These clinics will cater to a "rising number of patients who have recovered from Covid-19 but are suffering from the mid-term and long-term persistent effects of the infection," according to a statement issued by the Apollo Hospital group.

9:51 PM

8 deaths, 520 fresh virus cases in Punjab

The Punjab health authorities on Tuesday reported eight more coronavirus deaths as 520 fresh infections took the state's case tally to 128,590.

 

So far, the infection has claimed 4,037 lives in the state, according to a medical bulletin.

 

The places which reported new coronavirus cases included Hoshiarpur (109), Bathinda (57) and Ludhiana (46), the bulletin said.

9:42 PM

City of London lays out reinvention roadmap to bounce back from Covid-19

9:37 PM

Surat coronavirus update: 231 new cases, 244 people discharged and 2 deaths

9:22 PM

Mumbai reports 1,090 new cases and 1,470 recoveries. Infection count at 244,262

9:18 PM

Highest single-day spike of 4,029 fresh cases takes West Bengal's Covid-19 tally to 329,057

9:04 PM

Karnataka reports 6,297 new Covid-19 cases, tally at 776,901

8:59 PM

241 more test positive for Covid-19 in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand's coronavirus infection tally rose to 58,601 on Tuesday with 241 more people testing positive for the virus, while 13 more infected patients died at different hospitals.

 

Dehradun reported the highest number of 90 cases, Haridwar 37, Nainital 23, Almora 20, Uttarkashi 18, Pithoragarh 15, Udham Singh Nagar eight, Chamoli seven, Pauri seven, Tehri six, Champawat six, Rudraprayag three, and Bageshwar one case, according to a state health department bulletin.

 

Thirteen more Covid-19 patients died at different hospitals in the state taking the overall toll to 946 so far, the bulletin said.

 

As many as 51,862 infected people have recuperated, 429 have migrated out of the state and 5,364 are under treatment, it said.

8:55 PM

Virus can hit recovered Covid patients once antibodies start depleting: ICMR

Patients who have recovered from Covid-19 can again get infected by the virus once the antibodies of the viral disease starts depleting, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Tuesday. "According to the Centre for Disease Control (USA), you call it a reinfection (of Covid-19) if the person is reinfected after 90 days from turning negative to the Sars-CoV-2 after testing positive to it.

 

"However, there are multiple studies which suggest that the antibodies that develop after Covid-19 sustain for up to five months," said Balram Bhargava, Director-General of ICMR, while answering a query in the weekly press briefing of the Union Health Ministry.

 

"Since the disease is new, we do not have any further information about it. However, people can recontract the infection if antibodies start depleting from the body," he added.

8:47 PM

Nagaland's Covid-19 tally breaches 8,000 mark

Nagaland's Covid-19 tally breached the 8000-mark on Tuesday as 67 more people tested positive for the virus, including 31 armed forces personnel, a health department official said.

 

The 67 new cases have pushed the state's Covid-19 tally to 8,020 and the number of active cases to 1,657, he said. "67 positive cases of Covid-19 detected today

 

Dimapur 38, Kohima 13, Tuensang 11 and Mon 5," Health Minister, S Pangnyu Phom said in a tweet. "Also, 60 positive patients have recovered Tuensang 27, Kohima and Mon districts 13 each and Dimapur 7," he said.

 

Of the total 8,020 Covid-19 cases, 6,267 patients have recovered from the disease and the recovery rate in the state is at present 78.14 per cent, Additional Director of Health Department, Dr Denis Hangsing said in the daily Covid-19 bulletin.

8:38 PM

41 more Covid-19 deaths take Delhi's toll to 6,081; tally at 336,00

The national capital recorded 41 Covid-19 fatalities on Tuesday taking the death toll to 6,081, while 3,579 fresh cases took the infection tally to over 336,000, authorities said. These fresh cases were detected due to the 56,593 tests conducted the previous day, according to the health bulletin shared by the Delhi Chief Minister's Office on its Twitter handle.

 

Forty-one more fatalities have been recorded, taking the death toll to 6,081, according to the latest bulletin.

 

The tally of active cases on Tuesday rose to 23,922 from 22,570 the previous day. The total number of cases has climbed to 3,36,750, the bulletin added.

8:30 PM

Covid-19: Rajasthan records 14 deaths, 1,897 new cases

Rajasthan on Tuesday recorded 14 more fatalities due to Covid-19 taking the death toll to 1,774, a bulletin issued by the state's health department said.

 

The state also reported 1,897 new cases as the total number of cases reached 177,123, the bulletin said, adding that 20,254 infected people were under treatment.

 

According to the bulletin, 155,095 people have been discharged after treatment. So far, the maximum Covid-19 deaths have been reported from Jaipur (353), followed Jodhpur (169), Bikaner (131), Ajmer (129), Kota (113) among others.

 

Of the 1,897 new cases, the maximum were reported from Jaipur (386) followed by Jodhpur (233), Alwar (155) and Bikaner (148) among others.

8:24 PM

Bengal reports record 4,029 new Covid-19 cases, tally at 329,057

8:15 PM

940 new cases take Covid-19 tally in Haryana; death toll rises 1,660

Haryana on Tuesday reported 940 fresh cases of Covid-19 which pushed the infection tally in the state to 152,174, while the death toll rose to 1,660 and 12 more people succumbing to the disease.

 

Among the fresh deaths, two each were reported from Yamunanagar, Hisar and Gurgaon while one death each was recorded in Panipat, Nuh, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kaithal and Charkhi districts, according to the daily bulletin by the state health department.

 

Among the districts which reported a big spike in cases included Gurgaon (255), Faridabad (109), and Hisar (88). Active cases in the state currently stood at 10,078 while the recovery rate was 92.29 per cent, the bulletin stated.

8:02 PM

Meghalaya reports 57 new Covid-19 cases; tally rises to 8,593

At least 57 more people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Meghalaya on Tuesday, pushing the coronavirus tally to 8,593, a senior health official said.

 

The Covid-19 death toll in the state increased to 76 as one more person succumbed to the disease, he said. The state at present has 2,020 Covid-19 active cases, Health Services director Aman War said.

 

East Khasi Hills district, of which state capital Shillong, is a part, has 1,322 active Covid-19 cases, he said. War said 105 patients recovered from the disease on Tuesday, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 6,497.

 

A total of 1.89 lakh samples have been sent for Covid-19 testing so far, War added.

7:51 PM

Kerala adds 6,591 fresh coronavirus cases, 24 deaths push toll to 1,206

Kerala on Tuesday reported 6,591 new COVID-19 cases and 24 related fatalities taking the overall tally in the state to 340,472 and the death toll to 1,206.

Of those found infected today, as many as 105 reached the state from other places while 5,717 contracted the disease through their close contacts, Health Minister K K Shailaja said in a release.

"The sources of 707 infections are yet to be identified. Sixty-two health workers are also infected. Currently, there are 91,922 under treatment in the state. On Tuesday, the results of 7,375 people have turned negative taking the total number of those cured in the state to 2,60,243," she said.

7:43 PM

No paucity, India in 'extremely comfortable position' in oxygen supply: Health Ministry

There has been no scarcity of medical oxygen in the last 10 months as daily production capacity was enhanced to 6,862 metric tonnes by September and projected to further increase to 7,191 metric tonnes by the end of October, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

At a press conference, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the Centre, as a part of proactive interventions, has begun the process of installing oxygen generation plants in 246 hospitals 18 states and union territories in the first phase, out of which 67 were at various stages of completion.

In the second phase, such plants would be installed in 150 more hospitals across 30 states and UTs, he said while stressing that India was in a "comfortable position" in terms of oxygen availability.

"There has been no shortage of oxygen in the last 10 months. There is no paucity at present also. We are in an extremely comfortable position," Bhushan added.

7:30 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 3,503 new Covid cases, tally at 789,553

7:20 PM

Iran reports highest single-day spike of fresh 5,000 Covid-19 cases

Iran on Tuesday reported its highest single-day toll of new coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic with more than 5,000 new infections, as the country struggles to cope with a surge in transmission.

 

Iran's health ministry also reported that 322 people had died from the virus, pushing the death toll over 31,000. The new infection count on Tuesday eclipsed the previous high of 4,830 last week, shining a light on the nation's floundering efforts to combat the virus.

 

Iran, which emerged early on as an epicenter of the virus, has seen its worst wave of deaths from the illness in recent weeks. Monday's death toll shattered its previous single-day record, prompting state news outlets to declare it a black day. 

7:10 PM

Heathrow Airport begins rapid Covid-19 tests for flyers out of UK

Heathrow Airport in London, one of the world's largest aviation hubs, on Tuesday launched new pre-departure rapid Covid-19 testing facilities for travellers flying out of the UK.

 

The private test costs 80 pounds and aims to provide departing passengers with their results in around 60 minutes.

 

The airport said its new test-on-departure process is aimed at helping passengers leaving the UK to meet requirements of governments worldwide alongside reassuring travellers that everyone who has boarded their plane will have only been allowed to do so by showing a negative test result.

 

"Many other countries are already using testing to keep their borders safe while restarting trade and travel. These facilities will make it easier for passengers going to those countries to get a test and have the potential to provide a service for arriving passengers," said Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye.

7:03 PM

Jammu and Kashmir reports 589 new Covid-19 cases; tally at 88,958

7:01 PM

Lab test to detect protective effects of Covid antibodies developed

Scientists have developed a new lab testing procedure for the detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 that gives results more quickly than existing assays and specifically identifies so-called "neutralizing" antibodies - those that protect by blocking infection of cells.

 

"With many assays currently in use, we can detect antibodies, but that doesn't tell us if they're neutralizing antibodies. We only know the level of antibodies someone has," said study author Shan-Lu Liu from Ohio State University in the US.

 

"Some antibodies might be protective, some might not be protective, and some might even enhance infection - we know with this type of coronavirus and some other viruses, some antibodies can even do harm," he said.

6:40 PM

Virus can hit recovered Covid patients once antibodies start depleting: ICMR

Patients who have recovered from Covid-19 can again get infected by the virus once the antibodies of the viral disease starts depleting, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Tuesday. "According to the Centre for Disease Control (USA), you call it a reinfection (of Covid-19) if the person is reinfected after 90 days from turning negative to the Sars-CoV-2 after testing positive to it.

 

"However, there are multiple studies which suggest that the antibodies that develop after Covid-19 sustain for up to five months," said Balram Bhargava, Director-General of ICMR, while answering a query in the weekly press briefing of the Union Health Ministry.

 

"Since the disease is new, we do not have any further information about it. However, people can recontract the infection if antibodies start depleting from the body," he added.

6:35 PM

Tamil Nadu reports 3,094 new Covid-19 cases, tally nears 700,000