Coronavirus LIVE: 6,169 new Covid-19 cases, 22 deaths in Kerala in a day

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,906,371, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 911,382, Andhra Pradesh 879,339, Tamil Nadu 809,014, and Kerala 713,000

11:54 PM

People who arrived from UK rigorously traced; Covid situation under control in Delhi: Jain

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said people who have arrived here from the UK are being rigorously traced and those showing even the slightest of Covid-19 symptoms are being tested, even as he asserted that the situation in the city was under control with the positivity rate plummeting to below one per cent.

Interacting with reporters, he also said Delhinow has "the lowest positivity rate in the entire country". The ceasing of flight services to and from the UK was a prompt move by the Centre and will help in containing the spread of the new coronavirus strain detected in that country, he said. "We are alert and watchful at our end. People who have arrived here from the UK in the last several days are being rigorously traced, and tested if anyone is showing slightest of COVID-like symptoms. A team had been made and house-to-house tracing is being done, and they are being advised self-isolation too," the minister said.

Delhi recorded 871 fresh Covid-19 cases and 18 new fatalities on Wednesday, even as thepositivity rate slipped to 0.99 per cent, authorities said.

11:37 PM

Himachal records 437 new Covid cases, tally rises to 53,392

11:30 PM

West Bengal reports 1,628 new Covid-19 cases, 2,153 discharges

11:08 PM

958 new coronavirus cases in Karnataka

958 new coronavirus cases in Karnataka, tally 912,000, active cases 13,736; toll 12,038 with 9 more deaths: Health Dept

10:49 PM

None of UK returnees tested positive for Covid in Telangana so far: Health dept

None of the UK returnees has tested Covid-19 positive so far. 1200 passengers have returned to Telangana from the UK since December 9 till now: Telangana Medical and Health Department

10:29 PM

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin shows encouraging results in clinical trials: Research paper

Covaxin, a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Bharat Biotech, showed long-term antibody and T- cell (immune) memory responses three months after the shot in phase 1 volunteers and tolerable safety outcomes in Phase 2 study, the city-based company has said, suggesting the antibodies may persist for six to 12 months.

In phase 2, it also showed enhanced humoral and cell- mediated immune responses and the results were found in the safety and immunogenicity clinical trial of the vaccine candidate. Memory T cells are antigen-specific T cells that remain over a long term after an infection has been eliminated. Covaxin, being developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology, is now undergoing phase-3 trials.

10:17 PM

Punjab CM asks people to exercise caution amid reports of new strain of Covid-19

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh urged people on Wednesday to exercise extreme caution and strictly follow all COVID-19 safety norms amid reports of a new strain of the virus spreading in some parts of the world. Pointing out that even those who recover from the disease suffer from long-term after-effects, including weakness, the chief minister said the spread of the pandemic in the state may have slowed down, but the crisis is not yet over.

The last flight that landed in Amritsar from the United Kingdom on Tuesday reported eight positive cases of the virus, Singh said, adding he hoped that the new strain of the virus has not entered Punjab. Punjab reported 14 more COVID-19 deaths and 488 new cases on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 5,243 and the infection count to 1,64,145.

Addressing a Facebook Live telecast, the chief minister pointed out that several of his colleagues and officers have tested positive for the disease. He urged everybody to wear masks and maintain social distance in order to save themselves, their families and Punjab. The chief minister informed that the state was testing over 30,000 samples every day.

8:48 PM

Gujarat sees 958 new Covid-19 cases, 1,309 recoveries; six die

Gujarat on Wednesday reported 958 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the count of infections to 2,38,205, the state health department said. With six more persons succumbing to the viral disease, the total fatalities in the state rose to 4,254, it said in a release.

 

A total of 1,309 patients were discharged during the day, taking the number of recoveries in Gujarat to 2,22,911, the department said, adding that the recovery rate in the state now stands at 93.58 per cent.

 

The number of active cases in the state is 11,040, the department said. With 54,843 new tests, the number of tests conducted in Gujarat has gone up to 92,17,823.

8:29 PM

Delhi reports 871 new Covid-19 cases and 18 deaths in the last 24 hours

Delhi recorded 871 fresh COVID-19 cases and 18 more fatalities in a day, even as the case positivity rate slipped 0.99 per cent. This was the third consecutive day when the daily rise in cases remained below the 1,000 mark. On Tuesday, 939 new instances of the viral infection was reported, while the previous day the rise was 803, the lowest since August 17 when 787 cases were recorded.

 

These 871 new cases came out the 87,861 tests, including 45,816 RT-PCR tests and 42,045 rapid antigen tests, conducted the previous day, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.

 

The infection tally in the city mounted to over 6,19,618 and the death toll rose to 10,347 on Wednesday. The tally of active cases on Wednesday dropped to 8,003 from 8735 on Tuesday.

8:17 PM

Delhi reports 871 new Covid-19 cases and 18 deaths in the last 24 hours

7:55 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: 6,169 new Covid-19 cases, 22 deaths in Kerala in a day

Kerala's COVID-19 tally touched 7,21,510 on Wednesday with the addition of 6,169 new cases, while the toll rose to 2,892 with 22 deaths. A total of 4,808 people recovered from the disease, taking the total number of those cured from the disease to 6,55,644, state health minister K K Shailaja said. Currently, 62,802 patients are undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in the state.

 

"Out of the total infected, 5,349 were cases of local transmission and the source of infection was unknown for 662. Of those diagnosed,98 arrived from outside the state

 

Sixty health workers were among those infected," she said in a release. The Minister said 61,437 samples were tested and the test positivity rate is 10.04 per cent. A total of 75,08,489 samples have so far been sent for testing.

6:56 PM

22 coronavirus deaths, 1,233 fresh cases in Uttar Pradesh

With 22 fresh COVID-19 fatalities, the death toll in the state rose to 8,245, while the tally climbed to 5,77,642 with 1,233 new COVID-19 cases reported in the state in the past 24 hours. In a statement issued here on Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh government said that of the 22 fresh COVID-19 deaths, four were reported from state capital Lucknow, three from Kanpur and two deaths were reported from Varanasi.

 

Of the 1,233 fresh COVID-19 cases reported in the state, Lucknow registered 252 new cases.

 

In the past 24 hours, 1,102 COVID-19 patients have been discharged. So far, 5,53,019 patients have recovered from the disease, and have been discharged in the state. The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 16,378, the statement said.

6:26 PM

Six more UK passengers test positive for Covid-19 at Delhi's IGI airport

Six more passengers arriving in two flights from the UK, which landed at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) late on Tuesday night, have tested positive for Covid-19, officials told IANS on Wednesday. With this, the number of passengers from the UK who have tested positive at the IGIA has soared to 11. On Tuesday, five passengers from the UK had tested positive.

 

Besides, the officials also told IANS that around 50 passengers have been sent to institutional quarantine by the government since they were seated in proximity to the positive passengers. However, these 50 passengers have tested negative at the airport.

 

The officials said that the positive patients will be sent to the Sardar Covid Care Centre in Chattarpur. However, the location for institutional quarantine of the contacts has not been disclosed by the officials yet. Over 470 passengers who arrived at the IGIA in two flights on Tuesday night were tested at the airport.

5:58 PM

745 passengers quarantined after landing in Mumbai from UK in two days

As many as 1,688 passengers arrived at the Mumbai international airport from the UK and other countries since Monday midnight and 745 of them were quarantined in the city, a civic official said on Wednesday. In the wake of detection of a new variant of coronavirus in the UK, a new Standard Operating Procedure has been issued for dealing with passengers arriving from Europe and the Middle-East.

 

It could not be ascertained if any of these 745 passengers were found to have COVID-19 symptoms. Around 2,000 passengers were expected to land at the Mumbai airport in the last two days, but only 1,688 had landed as of Wednesday afternoon, said an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

 

As many as 745 of them were placed in institutional quarantine in Mumbai. BMC teams at the airport are exempting from quarantine some categories of passengers such as pregnant women or those traveling to attend last rites of their kin, the official said. So far two passengers have been exempted.

5:29 PM

Indonesia reports 7,514 new Covid-19 cases, 151 deaths

The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 7,514 within one day to 685,639, with the death toll adding by 151 to 20,408, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. According to the ministry, 5,981 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 558,703.

 

The virus has spread to all the country's 34 provinces. Specifically, within the past 24 hours, Jakarta recorded 1,954 new cases, Central Java 912, West Java 903, East Java 834, and South Sulawesi 524.

4:41 PM

UP CM directs Covid-19 tests for those who came to UP between Nov 25 and Dec 8

Amid concerns over a new variant of the coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that those who came to the state from abroad between November 25 and December 8 should undergo tests for detection of COVID-19. Those who arrived in UP from abroad after December 9 must undergo RT-PCR test, he told officials at a review meeting.

 

India has suspended all passenger flights connecting the United Kingdom from Wednesday till December 31 or till further orders in the wake of the emergence of a mutated strain of the virus there, joining several other countries that have imposed a similar flight ban.

 

The Union Health Ministry also issued a standard operating procedure advising states to ensure that passengers coming from the UK should undergo RT-PCR test and be isolated in a separate unit of an institutional facility if found positive.

3:42 PM

Cumulative coronavirus tests in India nearing 165 million: Health ministry

India's total tests conducted for detection of COVID-19 are nearing 16.5 crore, the Union Health ministry said on Wednesday highlighting that an average of more than 10 lakh tests conducted daily has ensured that the cumulative positivity rate is sustained at low levels.

 

The share of COVID-19 active cases in the total infections has further shrunk to 2.86 per cent with26 states and UTs having less than 10,000 active cases,the ministry said.

 

India's tests per million population (TPM) are 1,19,035. Twenty-three states and UTs have better tests per million than the national average, the ministry said. Sixteen states and UTs have weekly positivity rate less than the national average. Fifteen states and UTs have cumulative positivity rate less than the national average, the ministry said. READ MORE...

 

3:19 PM

All incoming passengers need to carry RT-PCR negative test report: Andaman & Nicobar Administration

2:50 PM

Chaos at Delhi airport, UK passengers stuck over eight hours to get Covid-19 report

Passengers arriving from the United Kingdom are facing a wait of more than 8 hours to get their COVID-19 test report even after travelling for a distance of around 6,700 kilometres. As per Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), passengers from the UK will only be permitted to exit the airport when the entire passenger's Covid report out. Airport official said that the delay due to the procedural system for the UK passengers.

 

"As per the SOPs set by the administration, the sample of the Covid collection in a mass level of the UK passengers but allow them to exit the airport only when the reports of all passengers are out," an airport official told ANI.

 

The Government of India has suspended flight operations from midnight of December 22 to and from the UK after new covid virus strain outbreak in the country. Around 500 passengers from the UK who landed at Delhi airport last night are stuck in the chaos at the airport.

 

2:42 PM

Total coronavirus tests in India nearing 16.5 crore-mark

India's total tests conducted for detection of COVID-19 are nearing 16.5 crore, the Union Health ministry said on Wednesday highlighting that an average of more than 10 lakh tests conducted daily has ensured that the cumulative positivity rate is sustained at low levels. The share of COVID-19 active cases in the total infections has further shrunk to 2.86 per cent with26 states and UTs having less than 10,000 active cases,the ministry said.

 

India's tests per million population (TPM) are 1,19,035. Twenty-three states and UTs have better tests per million than the national average, the ministrysaid.

 

Sixteen states and UTs have weekly positivity rate less than the national average. Fifteen states and UTs have cumulative positivity rate less than the national average, the ministry said. The ongoing trend of contraction of India's total active cases continues, the ministry said adding the active caseload of the country stands at 2,89,240 as on date.

2:12 PM

India's Covid-19 recovery rate has increased to 95.69%: Health Ministry

1:47 PM

Karnataka govt imposes night curfew till January 2

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday said the state government has decided to impose night curfew from December 23 night till January 2 across the state aimed at containing the new COVID-19 strain. The Chief Minister made the announcement following a meeting with Health Minister K Sudhakar, members of the state Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for COVID-19 and senior officials.

 

Addressing reporters, he said, "In view of the new stain of the COVID-19 virus and as per the advice of the Government of India and Technical Advisory Committee, it is decided to impose night curfew from today till January 2, 2021 between 10 pm and 6 am."

 

"It will be applicable for the entire state.. I request all public to cooperate to prevent and contain the new COVID- 19 strain."

 

Earlier in the day Sudhakar had held a detailed discussion with the TAC members consisting of senior health experts in the state. Neighboring Maharashtra on Monday had declared a night curfew in municipal corporation areas as a precautionary step amid growing concerns over a new coronavirus variant spreading in Britain.

1:37 PM

Odisha records 364 new Covid-19 cases, 388 recoveries

Odisha records 364 new Covid-19 cases, 388 recoveries and 3 deaths, as per State Health Department

 

Total cases: 3,27,279

 

Total recoveries: 3,22,344

 

Active cases: 3,036

 

Death toll: 1,846

1:36 PM

Night curfew in Karnataka from tonight till Jan 2

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has announced night curfew in Karnataka from today till January 2. The curfew will be imposed from 10 pm to 6 am.

1:20 PM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

12:53 PM

At Pune airport, compulsory institutional quarantine for passengers from Middle East & European countries

The PMC has issued directives to be followed at the Pune airport to prevent the spread of the new strain in the city, said Additional Municipal Commissioner Rubal Agarwal.

 

As per the directives, all passengers arriving from Middle East or European countries would be subjected to mandatory institutional quarantine at their own cost in designated hotels for seven days. The PMC has tied with 15 hotels and Azam campus for the purpose. If the passenger is found symptomatic on arrival, then he/she will be shifted directly to Naidu Hospital for future evaluation and treatment, said Agarwal.

12:36 PM

Preparations underway at coronavirus vaccine storage centre in Patna

Preparations are underway at vaccine storage centre in Patna's Nalanda Medical College and Hospital to handle and store COVID-19 vaccines.

 

"Around 35 lakh vials can be stored at the centre. This is a large storage centre. The vaccine when arrived will be stored in the walk-in coolers," said Dr Vinod Kr Singh, NMCH Superintendent.

 

"Vaccines will be transported to different districts from here. We already have a developed system here and we are further preparing for the storage of COVID-19 vaccine. All systems are operational beforehand," he added.

10:29 AM

'India likely to approve AstraZeneca vaccine by next week'

India is likely to approve Oxford/AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use by next week after its local manufacturer submitted additional data sought by authorities, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
 

This could be the first country to give the regulatory green light for the British drugmaker’s vaccine as the British medicine regulator continues to examine data from the trials. Read on...

10:17 AM

Coronavirus in India: Latest update by MoHFW

Active cases: 289,240 (Net reduction: 3,278)

Deaths: 146,444 (Net increase: 333)

Cured: 9,663,382 (Net increase: 26,895)

Total cases: 10,099,066 (Net increase: 23,950)

10:06 AM

Donald Trump hints he might not sign $900-bn coronavirus relief bill

President Donald Trump is blasting the bipartisan $900 billion pandemic relief package that Congress just passed and is suggesting that he may not sign it.

 

Trump complained in a video that he tweeted out Tuesday night that the bill delivered too much money to foreign countries, but not enough to Americans.