Coronavirus LIVE: India's recovery rate crosses 95%; among highest globally

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,886,807, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 902,240, Andhra Pradesh 875,500, Tamil Nadu 800,029, and Kerala 672,037

1:51 AM

Biden to take oath outside Capitol amid virus restrictions

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office outside the US Capitol building as inauguration planners seek to craft an event that captures the traditional grandeur of the historic ceremony while complying with Covid-19 protocols.

 

Biden's team released some broad details for the January 20 event on Tuesday. They're proceeding with the plans without any assurances that outgoing President Donald Trump will participate.

 

The president, who continues to make unproven claims of widespread voter fraud, has not yet told current and former White House aides whether he will attend Biden's inauguration.

1:02 AM

Assam logs 142 new Covid cases

Assam's Covid-19 caseload went up to 2,14,945 on Tuesday after 142 more people tested positive for the disease, while one fresh fatality took the death toll to 1,004, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

 

He said that 102 patients recovered from coronavirus during the day, taking the total number of cured people in the state to 2,10,398.

11:41 PM

WHO to sift Chinese samples, data in hunt for virus origins

A German scientist who is part of a small team of experts assembled by the World Health Organisation to investigate the origins of the coronavirus says they plan to sift through samples and medical data from China to help determine where the bug first jumped from animals to humans and which species it came from.

 

The search for the source of the new coronavirus has sparked claims of cover-ups and fuelled political tensions,, particularly between the US administration of President Donald Trump and Beijing.

 

Most researchers think that the virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, originated in animals in China, probably bats, and the WHO has put together a 10-person team to examine the science.

 

Mission member Fabian Leendertz, a biologist at Germany's Robert Koch Institute who specialised in emerging diseases, said that the goal is to gather data to be better prepared for possible future outbreaks.

11:38 PM

Assam reported 142 new coronavirus cases and 102 discharges in last 24 hours

10:55 PM

Jharkhand reports 209 new coronavirus cases, 211 recoveries and 1 death in last 24 hours

10:33 PM

Poor countries face long wait for vaccines despite promises

With Americans, Britons and Canadians rolling up their sleeves to receive coronavirus vaccines, the route out of the pandemic now seems clear to many in the West, even if the rollout will take many months. But for poorer countries, the road will be far longer and rougher.

 

The ambitious initiative known as COVAX created to ensure the entire world has access to COVID-19 vaccines has secured only a fraction of the 2 billion doses it hopes to buy over the next year, has yet to confirm any actual deals to ship out vaccines and is short on cash.

 

The virus that has killed more than 1.6 million people has exposed vast inequities between countries, as fragile health systems and smaller economies were often hit harder.

10:18 PM

Maharashtra reports 3,442 new coronavirus cases, 70 deaths and 4,395 discharges in last 24 hours

9:46 PM

Surat reports 167 new coronavirus cases, two deaths in last 24 hours; 201 recover

9:37 PM

RS MP and NPP Meghalaya unit chief WR Kharlukhi tests positive for Covid

9:22 PM

Maharashtra govt announces reduction in RT PCR testing rate to Rs 700

9:05 PM

No medical practitioners, Ayush or others, can claim Covid-19 cure: SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that when the entire world is engaged in research for a Covid-19 vaccine, no medical practitioner of any stream of medicine can claim that they can cure Covid-19. A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan and comprising Justices R. Subhash Reddy and M.R. Shah said: "When statutory regulations itself prohibited advertisements, there was no occasion for homeopathic and other medical practitioners to claim that they are competent to cure Covid-19 disease."

 

The top court did not agree with the Kerala High Court's direction that if any qualified doctor practising AYUSH medicine made any advertisement or prescribed any drugs or medicines, as a cure for Covid-19 disease, except as prescribed in the March 6 advisory, it was open for the authorities to take appropriate action under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

 

However, the apex court added that the High Court was correct in observing that no medical practitioner can claim that they can cure Covid-19.

8:44 PM

Maharashtra reports 3,442 fresh Covid-19 cases; state tally 1,886,807

Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 3,442 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the count of infections to 18,86,807, the state health department said. With 70 more persons succumbing to the viral disease, the cumulative toll mounted to 48,339.

 

A total of 4,395 patients were discharged during the day, taking the tally of recoveries to 17,66,010, an official said, adding that the state has so far conducted 1,18,06,808 tests. Maharashtra is now left with 71,356 active cases. Mumbai city reported 521 new cases, taking its caseload to 2,91,634, while its death toll rose by seven to 10,991, the official said.

8:33 PM

29,000 cold chain points, 41,000 deep freezers: India ready for Covid-19 vaccine storage

The Union health ministry on Tuesday said 29,000 cold chain points, 240 walk-in coolers, 70 walk-in freezers, 45,000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41,000 deep freezers and 300 solar refrigerators will be used for COVID-19 vaccine storage. Providing the details about cold-chain management at a press conference, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said guidelines for estimation of electrical and non-electrical cold chain equipment and their strengthening have been issued to states by the Centre.

 

The guidelines for management of cold chain at last cold chain points and session sites have also been issued, he said.

 

"A total of 29,000 cold chain points, 240 walk-in coolers, 70 walk-in freezers, 45,000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41,000 deep freezers and 300 solar refrigerators will be used, Bhushan said. "All these equipment have already been delivered to the states. Some other equipment are being supplied," he said.

8:20 PM

1,185 new coronavirus cases, 11 deaths in Karnataka

Karnataka has reported 1,185 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 9,03,425 and the death toll to 11,965, the health department said on Tuesday. The day also saw 1,594 patients getting discharged after recovery. The active cases stood at 15,645. Out of the 1,185 fresh cases, as many as 673 cases were from Bengaluru Urban alone.

 

Cumulatively 9,03,425 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state and they included 11,965 deaths and 8,75,796 discharges, a bulletin said. Of the active cases, a total of 15,392 patients were in isolation at designated hospitals while 253 in the intensive care unit. Three out of the 11 deaths reported on Tuesday are from Bengaluru Urban, followed by Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapura, Chitadurga, Hassan, Haveri, Kodagu, Tumakuru and Uttara Kannada (one each).

8:11 PM

Will provide tech tools for Covid-19 vaccination drive in India: Mukesh Ambani

As India gets ready to roll out one of the largest vaccine programmes, billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Tuesday said his group is working with authorities to provide technology tools and backbone for mass inoculation against Covid-19.

 

Ambani's telecom venture Jio was rolled out four years back, offering free voice calling and dirt-cheap data. Today, Jio is India's largest telecom operator with over 400 million users, each connected to the internet.

 

At a Facebook event, Ambani said the government's digital push kept the country running even during the pandemic and is now helping in the rollout of one of the largest vaccination programmes. Good digital and internet access allowed people to work from home and helped businesses to run without disruption. READ ON...