Coronavirus LIVE: 6,185 new Covid-19 cases in Kerala in past 24 hours

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,886,807, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 903,425, Andhra Pradesh 876,336, Tamil Nadu 801,161, and Kerala 677,255

1:49 AM

Vaccinations reach nursing homes, as California faces crisis

The first Covid-19 vaccinations are underway at US nursing homes, where the virus has killed upwards of 110,000 people, even as the nation struggles to contain a surge so alarming that California is dispensing thousands of body bags and lining up refrigerated morgue trailers.

 

With the rollout of shots picking up speed Wednesday, lawmakers in Washington closed in on a long-stalled coronavirus relief package that would send direct payments of perhaps $600 to most Americans.

 

Meanwhile, the US appeared to be days away from adding a second vaccine to its arsenal.

 

At the same time, a major snowstorm pushing its way into the Northeast raised fears it could disrupt distribution of the first vaccine.

 

Nursing home residents in Florida began receiving shots Wednesday, after nearly 2,000 such vaccinations were administered in West Virginia on Tuesday.

12:39 AM

France to get 1.16 million Covid vaccine doses by year end, says Prime Minister

11:31 PM

Jharkhand coronavirus update

Jharkhand reported 190 new coronavirus cases, 180 recoveries and 3 deaths in last 24 hours

10:33 PM

Chhattisgarh sees 1,661 new cases

1,661 new coronavirus cases reported in Chhattisgarh in last 24 hours. With these additions, tally reached 262,000. Active cases stand at 17,468, while toll rose to 3,145, according to the state health department

10:18 PM

Mumbai reports 795 new Covid-19 cases; 12 deaths

The tally of Covid-19 cases in Mumbai went up to 284,404 with the addition of 795 new cases on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

 

With 12 more patients succumbing to the Covid-19 disease in the last 24 hours, the death toll rose to 11,007, it said.

 

A day before, Mumbai had recorded 521 new cases and seven fatalities.

10:16 PM

Boris Johnson resists calls for more curbs

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday resisted calls to tighten coronavirus restrictions over Christmas, as London faced stricter measures and concern mounted about rising infections

9:36 PM

Tamil Nadu reports 1,181 new Covid cases

Tamil Nadu on Wednesday reported 1,181 new Covid-19 cases taking the tally to 8,02,342 and the death toll touched 11,931 with 12 more fatalities.

 

The active cases stood at 9,880 with 1,240 patients getting discharged from various hospitals and cumulatively 7,80,531 people have got cured till date.

8:34 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 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.

8:08 PM

6,185 new Covid-19 cases and 5,728 recoveries reported in Kerala today

7:37 PM

Covid patients at higher risk of death than those with flu: Study

While many earlier reports stressed that seasonal flu is more dangerous than Covid-19, a new study suggests that Covid-19 can also be more deadly or the flu's equal. The study, published in the journal The BMJ, revealed a clearer distinction between the two contagious viruses.

 

Among hospitalized patients, Covid-19 was associated with an increased need for ventilators, more admissions into intensive care units (ICUs), longer hospital stays and nearly five times the risk of death than faced by those with the flu.

 

"And although both illnesses attack the lungs, the analysis showed Covid-19 can also damage other organs," said the study authors from Washington University in the US.

7:22 PM

LIVE: Delhi reports 1,547 new Covid-19 cases and 32 deaths in the last 24 hours

7:10 PM

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 332 fresh Covid-19 infections on Wednesday

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. Of the fresh cases, 151 were reported from the Kashmir division and 181 from the Jammu division.

 

Jammu district recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 96, followed by 53 in Srinagar district. sThe 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. Jammu and Kashmir also reported five more COVID-19 deaths the previous day, four from Jammu and one from the Kashmir region. With these, the death toll due to the pandemic stands at 1,817.

6:52 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 478 fresh Covid-19 cases in past 24 hours

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. All districts have been showing a steady decline in the coronavirus infection, but Chittoor, Krishna and West Godavari still have a relatively higher addition of daily cases. In 24 hours, Visakhapatnam added two fresh COVID-19 fatalities and Kadapa one to their tally.

6:07 PM

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.

 

"Even if one vaccinator administers 100 people a day, on an average 10,000 vaccinators can vaccinate 80 lakh people in eight or ten days, a Health department official told PTI.

 

The official further said as of now there was no approved vaccine for COVID-19 in the country and preparations were being made to be ready for administering it as and when available.

5:46 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Odisha reports 407 new Covid-19 cases, five 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). Four districts -- Deogarh, Nabarangpur, Subarnapur and Rayagada -- did not report any new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

5:26 PM

Delhi aggressively tackling Covid-19; positivity rate lowest since May

Delhi is "aggressively tackling" the COVID-19 situation and not only has the positivity rate dipped to below two per cent, it is also the lowest figure since May, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday. Interacting with reporters, he also said that the severity of the pandemic has come down, but people still need to be vigilant and observe all safety norms.

 

"The positivity rate recorded yesterday (Tuesday) stood at 1.9 per cent. I think it is the lowest figure till date, though I will need to look into data to tell exactly. But, for sure, it is the lowest positivity rate since May. This indicates an improved COVID-19 situation in Delhi," he said.

 

Delhi recorded 1,617 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with over 85,000 tests conducted. The death toll mounted to 10,115 with 41 new fatalities. The positivity rate on December 3-7 had successively dipped to 4.96 per cent, 4.78 per cent, 4.2 per cent, 3.68 per cent and 3.15 per cent, respectively.

5:15 PM

Adverse event can take place after any immunisation: Principal investigator for Covaxin trials at AIIMS

4:55 PM

Coronavirus detected on imported frozen food in China

An imported frozen food sample in the city of Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province, tested positive for the novel coronavirus, local authorities said Tuesday.

 

The sample was taken from a batch of frozen sliced pig ears imported from the United States as part of a regular screening before the entry of any imported frozen food into the city's cold storage warehouse, according to the city's epidemic prevention and control office.

 

None of the goods have been distributed into the local market. Local authorities have sealed and disinfected the food and quarantined those who had contact with the tainted items, the Xinhua news agency reported.

4:34 PM

Poverty linked to higher risk of Covid-19 death: Study

Researchers have now claimed that people in poorest areas are more likely to be affected by severe Covid-19 -- and to die from the disease -- than those in more affluent districts. The study, published in the journal Lancet Regional Health - Europe, found patients from the most economically disadvantaged areas had a higher chance of critical care admission, and that intensive care units there were more likely to be over capacity.

 

"The study highlights the need for extra support to be given to critical care units in poorer areas, and for more to be done to tackle health inequalities," said the study authors from Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow in the UK.

 

The research team gauged how living in an area of socioeconomic poverty - measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation - was linked to severe Covid-19 using anonymous health records. They also accessed hospital data to assess the impact of the pandemic on critical care units at all of Scotland's hospitals. They found that 735 patients with Covid-19 were admitted to critical care units across Scotland between March and June 2020.

3:58 PM

Traffic fines in Gurugram see 55% dip due to Covid-19

Gurugram district has seen a nearly 55 per cent dip in traffic fines as compared to the previous year due to the Covid-19 impact.

 

The Gurugram Traffic police have issued 2,16,199 challans for no-entry, drunken driving, jumping the red light, wrong side parking, lane change, wrong parking and driving without helmet till December 14 this year. In view of the Covid-19 infections this year, the Gurugram Traffic police have issued only 447 challans for drunken driving as compared to 4,067 during 2019.

 

"The reason behind the heavy drop in traffic fines was due to the lockdown and Covid-19 infections. The government had imposed a complete lockdown amid coronavirus. We have stopped the campaign against 'drinking and driving' due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in Gurugram. Amid the infection, the Traffic police is avoiding the use of alcohol breath analyser machine as it helps in spreading the infections," said D.K. Bhardwaj, DCP (Traffic).

3:25 PM

India recorded less than 40,000 daily new cases since the last 17 days: Health Ministry

2:49 PM

Quarter of world may not have access to coronavirus vaccine until 2022: Study

Coronavirus vaccinations may not reach a quarter of the world's population until 2022, according to researchers who reported on Tuesday.

 

According to CNN, half of all planned doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been bought up by high-income countries such as the US, Japan, and Australia. Citing a report by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, it reported that these "rich countries" have pre-ordered close to 7.5 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines, enough to vaccinate 3.76 billion people.

 

"Just over half (51 per cent) of these doses will go to high-income countries, which represent 14 percent of the world's population," they wrote in their report, published in the BMJ as quoted by CNN.

 

The US accounted for one-fifth of all global Covid-19 cases but had reserved 800 million doses of vaccine. Japan, Australia, and accounted for fewer than 1 percent of cases but had options on 1 billion doses, at the time when this report was written.

2:07 PM

EPFO settles 52 lakh Covid-19 claims, disburses Rs 13,300 crore: Govt

Retirement fund body EPFO has settled 52 lakh COVID-19 non-refundable advance claims, and disbursed Rs 13,300 crore so far, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said on Wednesday. In March, the government had allowed over 6 crore subscribes of EPFO to withdraw an amount not exceeding their three months basic pay and dearness allowance from their EPF account in view of the lockdown to fight the pandemic.

 

Speaking at Assocham Foundation Week programme, Gangwar said EPFO has settled 52 lakh COVID-19 withdrawal claims and disbursed Rs 13,300 crore to subscribers during the pandemic.

 

He noted that the country has faced the pandemic with brave face.

 

The Centre had launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) on March 26 to help the economically weaker sections cope with the pandemic.

1:47 PM

Covid-19 infection does not damage auditory system: Study

After some reports linked Covid-19 with hearing loss, a new study has found no evidence of damage to the auditory system as a result of coronavirus infection.

 

"The possibility of hearing loss has been debated among medical practitioners, with some reporting this symptom in recovered patients," said study author Karen Avraham from Tel Aviv University in Israel.

 

"The question is whether such hearing loss is caused by damage to the auditory system, or whether it is a temporary symptom caused by fluids clogging the middle ear, as often happens with a common cold," Avraham added.

 

For the study, published in the journal Otology and Neurotology, the research team began to investigate this question during the first wave of the pandemic, when the numbers of patients in Israel were still relatively small. Participants included eight asymptomatic individuals who had tested positive for Covid-19 and eight healthy volunteers who served as a control group, none of whom reported any previous hearing loss. The study provided for the first time quantitative measures for hearing quality following exposure to the virus.

1:26 PM

Donald Trump 'absolutely open' to taking Covid-19 vaccine: White House

US President Donald Trump is "absolutely open" to taking the coronavirus vaccine but his priority is frontline workers and the most vulnerable, the White House has said.

 

The US on Friday allowed the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccine developed by American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech with a critical care nurse in New York receiving the first jab. Read on...

11:07 AM

The outbreak magnitude seems to be less now: Satyender Jain on coronavirus third wave in Delhi

Yesterday for the first time the positivity rate has been below 2%, since the month of May. I would still appeal to the people to wear masks. I can't say that the 3rd wave of Covid-19 is over but the outbreak magnitude seems to be less now: Satyender Jain, Delhi Health Minister

10:50 AM

Coronavirus mutation: Is the fear justified, and where does it come from?

A new strain of the coronavirus may be responsible for the faster spread of the virus in London and south-east England, it has been announced. Unconfirmed reports suggest that coronavirus variant is called N501Y. This particular strain has been increasing in frequency since August.

 

The idea of a mutating virus, breaking out into new strains, is enough to scare most people. But are these fears justified, and where do they come from? Read on...

10:22 AM

What vaccine distribution planners can learn from Amazon and Walmart model

The initial rollout of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has begun, and vaccines are shipping across the U. S. Demand for Covid-19 vaccines will outpace supply for the foreseeable future. Yet experts have warned that a substantial proportion of these highly perishable vaccines could go to waste if they are not being used before they expire.

 

With such short supplies and high demand, worrying about waste may sound paradoxical, but is actually a predictable result of two well-known medical distribution challenges: complicated storage requirements and variability in demand. Read on...

9:42 AM

Europe to get Covid vaccine before new year, nod likely in Christmas week

Europeans are set to start getting coronavirus vaccines before the new year after the regional drug regulator accelerated its approval process following the launch of immunisation campaigns in the United States and Britain.

 

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said an expert panel would convene on Monday Dec. 21 to evaluate the vaccine made by U.S. company Pfizer and German partner BioNTech. It had previously said the meeting could be as late as Dec 29. Read on...

9:25 AM

Coronavirus India update: Summary of MoHFW data (December 16)

Active cases: 332,002 (Net reduction: 7,818)

Deaths: 144,096 (Net increase: 387)

Cured: 9,456,449 (Net increase: 33,813)

Total cases: 9,932,547 (Net increase: 26,382)