Coronavirus LIVE: Applying for emergency vaccine use soon, says Serum CEO

Coronavirus update: At 1,808,550, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 881,086, Andhra Pradesh 866,000, Tamil Nadu 777,616 and Kerala 587,578

9:00 PM

Mumbai reports 1,063 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours

8:47 PM

Himachal Pradesh govt decides to limit social gatherings to 50 people: official statement

8:34 PM

Karnataka reports 1,522 new Covid-19 cases, 12 deaths

8:31 PM

Puducherry reports 46 new Covid-19 cases, 41 discharges.

8:28 PM

Maharashtra reports 5,965 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours

7:54 PM

In process to apply for emergency use authorisation of Covishield: Serum CEO

Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla said that they are process of applying for emergency use authorization of Covishield in the next two weeks. PM is extremely knowledgable now on vaccines & vaccine production. We were amazed at what he already knew.


He futher said that there was very little to explain to him, except for going into detail on different variable vaccines & the challenges that they may face ahead. As of now, we don't have anything in writing with the govt of India on how many doses they will purchase but the indication is that it would be 300-400 million doses by July, 2021.


"We have built the largest pandemic level facility in Pune & our new campus in Mandri. That was also showcased to the PM with a tour around the facility & a lot of detailed discussions. Vaccine will be distributed initially in India, then we will look at the COVAX countries which are mainly in Africa. The UK & European markets are being taken care of by AstraZeneca & Oxford. Our priority is India & COVAX countries", said Poonawalla to ANI.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute

7:45 PM

ICMR approves CSIR's Covid testing method

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has approved a simple and fast method for COVID-19 testing which can not only increase the number of RT-PCR tests but can also bring down costs, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) said on Saturday. The method -- Dry Swab-Direct RT-PCR -- developed by CSIR's Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, is a variation of the existing gold standard RT-PCR method and can easily scale up the testing by 2 to 3 fold with no new investment of resources. "After evaluating this method and finding an overall concordance of 96.9 per cent, ICMR has now issued an advisory for the use of CSIR-CCMB dry swab method, considering its lesser cost and quick turn-around time," the CSIR said.

The CCMB has been testing samples for coronavirus since April. Having worked closely with healthcare workers of Telangana, it identified some of the key issues that slow the testing process. In response to it, the researchers developed the Dry Swab RNA-extraction free testing method for COVID-19. The Dry Swab-Direct RT-PCR method involves collecting and transporting the nasal swab in dry state, as opposed to using the viral transport medium VTM, which makes the transportation and handling of the samples easy and less prone to spillage and spread of infection. Secondly, the step of RNA isolation from the sample is omitted and involves only simple processing of the sample followed by direct RT-PCR using the kit recommended by the ICMR.

7:21 PM

Delhi reports 4,998 new Covid-19 cases, tally at 561,742

7:17 PM

Chandigarh reports 89 new Covid-19 cases, tally at 17,246

6:51 PM

Had good interaction at Serum Institute, they shared details on vaccine progress: Modi

6:30 PM

Tamil Nadu reports 1,430 Covid cases in a single-day

6:10 PM

6250 new Covid-19, 5275 recoveries and 25 deaths reported in Kerala

6250 new Covid-19, 5275 recoveries and 25 deaths reported in Kerala today. Number of active cases now at 64,834; so far 526,797 patients have recovered: State Government

6:03 PM

Over 50% Covid-19 beds unoccupied in Delhi: Satyender Jain

Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday said more than 50 percent of the beds reserved for coronavirus patients in Delhi are unoccupied. More than 1,200 ICU beds and around 9,500 normal ones are unoccupied at present. Overall, more than 50 percent beds are available. So, we are in a slightly better situation, he told reporters. The minister said there were some problems related to oxygen supply in Delhi on Friday which have been resolved. Delhi reported 5,482 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, while 98 more fatalities pushed the city's death toll to 8,909.

The positivity rate was 8.51 percent. It was 8.65 percent on Thursday and 8.49 percent on Wednesday. On Friday, Jain had said Delhi has sufficient infrastructure and equipment to vaccinate its entire population in a few weeks once a COVID-19 vaccine was available. There is no need to worry about storage of vaccines. We have a large number of health care facilities, such as mohalla clinics, poly clinics, and hospitals etc., where COVID-19 vaccine can be administered to people, he had said.

5:58 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 625 new coronavirus cases

5:46 PM

2,152 new coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh

2,152 new coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh, tally 540,000, active cases 25,243; toll 7,718 with 21 more deaths: health official

5:45 PM

PM reviews Covid vaccine development at Serum Institute

5:20 PM

PM at Serum Institute to review Covid-19 vaccine progress

5:02 PM

Haryana to extend closure of schools for 10 more days amid Covid

State Health Minister Anil Vij said that schools in the state will remain closed for 10 more days in Haryana . The state government had earlier decided to keep the schools shut till November 30, in view of Covid-19 situation.

5:00 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Modi arrives at Serum Institute in Pune to review vaccine development

4:59 PM

2,152 new Covid-19 cases take UP's tally to 539,899; death toll 7,718

The COVID-19 death toll in Uttar Pradesh rose to 7,718 on Saturday with 21 more fatalities, while 2,152 new cases pushed the infection tally to 5,39,899, a senior official here said. "The state has 25,243 active cases while 5,06,938 people have been treated and discharged. The death toll has risen to 7,718," Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters here.

The total number of cases on Saturday rose to 5,39,899 from 5,37,747 on Friday with 2,152 fresh cases, he said. Among the 25,243 active cases in the state, 12,293 are in home isolation, 2,253 are undergoing treatment in private hospitals and the rest are in government hospitals, where they are getting treatment free of cost, Prasad said. On Friday, over 1.74 lakh COVID-19 tests were conducted in the state, taking the total number of tests to over 1.89 crore, Prasad said.

4:35 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: PM Modi arrives in Pune to visit Serum Institute to review vaccine development

4:09 PM

Himachal CM decides to enforce 5-day office to break Covid-19 chain

Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur has said that the state govt has decided to enforce five days office and sixth days work from home for all govt employees of the state till December 15 to break COVID-19 chain. Himachal Pradesh has said that state government would also consider to impose curfew from 9 pm to 6 am in the four districts - Shimla, Mandi, Kullu and Kangra: CMO

3:26 PM

PM's presence to motivate firm in quest to bridge unmet healthcare needs: Zydus Cadila

Drug firmZydus Cadila on Saturday said the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at its Zydus Biotech Park will motivate the company to scale greater heights in its pursuit to bridge unmet healthcare needs. Modi visited Zydus Cadila's manufacturing facility near Ahmedabad, as he began his three-city visit to review ongoing coronavirus vaccine development work.

"His inspiring presence will motivate us to scale greater heights in our quest to bridge unmet healthcare needs,"Zydus Cadila said in a regulatory filing. The Zydus family comprising 25,000 Zydans stands committed to the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'mission and offering the nation safe and efficacious vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to fight COVID-19, it added. Zydus Cadila had earlier announced that the phase-I clinical trial of its vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D is over and it commenced phase-II clinical trials from August.

 

PM Modi during his visit at Zydus Biotech Park

3:21 PM

Uttarakhand CM takes stock of Covid situation, asks to increase tests across state

At a review meeting, Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat instructs officials of the health department to ensure the results of COVID-19 tests within 24 hours in urban areas and within 48 hours in hilly areas: Chief Minister's Office

3:10 PM

Modi tweets on his visit to Biotech facility in Hyderabad, lauds scientists for vaccine progress

3:06 PM

PM briefed on Covid vaccine of Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad

PM Narendra Modi was briefed about indigenous Covid-19 vaccine of Bharat Biotech at its facility in Hyderabad, Telangana today. "Congratulated scientists for their progress in the trials so far. Their team is closely working with ICMR to facilitate speedy progress," he tweets.

3:04 PM

BJP to be blamed if Maharashtra faces second Covid-19 wave: minister

Maharashtra minister of state for Revenue Abdul Sattar has slammed the BJP for organising protests on streets amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. "The BJP will be responsible if the state is hit by a second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. The BJP is playing politics by gathering people (for protests)," Sattar told reporters in Nanded on Friday.

He ruled out the possibility of a lockdown in old format at this juncture. "The BJP is gathering people for protests and morchas. If this continues and if Maharashtra faces a second wave of coronavirus pandemic, the BJP will be responsible," he said. In a recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had raised the issue of "some parties" holding protests in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, without naming the BJP.

2:18 PM

Modi visits Bharat Biotech facility to review Covid-19 vaccine development

2:02 PM

PM reaches Hyderabad to visit Bharat Biotech plant

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Saturday as part of his three-city tour to take the stock of COVID-19 vaccine development. After landing at Hakimpet Air Force station here, he was received by Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Director General of Police and other officials. He will be proceeding to Bharat Biotech's facility located at Genome valley, a life sciences cluster about 20 km from the AF base, officials said.


Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, being developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Virologyis now undergoing phase-3 trials.

The vaccine is being developed and will be manufactured at Bharat Biotech's BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) facility in Genome Valley in Hyderabad. Modi will be interacting with scientists and senior management of the city-based vaccine maker onthe status of Covaxin, officials said. The PM will be flying back to the national capital after a stopover inPune, where he will visit the Serum Institute of India (SII), which has partnered with pharma giant AstraZeneca and the Oxford University for the vaccine. Earlier in the morning, Modi visited Zydus Cadila's plant near Ahmedabad.

 

1:57 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Modi arrives in Hyderabad, to visit Bharat Biotech facility