Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 4,268 new cases; tally now 1,872,440

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,872,440, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 897,801, Andhra Pradesh 873,995, Tamil Nadu 795,240, and Kerala 654,041

11:40 PM

Assam reports 127 new Covid-19 cases, one more death

Assam's COVID-19 death toll rose to 1,000 with one more person succumbing to the disease, while 127 new infections pushed the coronavirus caseload to 2,14,432 Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.

The new death case was reported from Kamrup Metropolitan district, he said.

"Sad to share the demise of one #COVID patient today... Condolences and Prayers," Sarma tweeted.

The overall positivity rate stood at 3.84 per cent against total testing of 55,83,981 samples so far.

"127 cases detected out of 21,002 tests conducted with positivity rate of 0.60%," the minister tweeted.

With new cases, Assam reported a total of 2,14,432 COVID-19 cases, of which 53,137 have been reported from the state capital alone.

For four consecutive days, the state reported more recoveries at 149 discharges than the number of new infections.

The state currently has a total of 3,493 active COVID-19 cases and they are being treated at different hospitals and Covid Care Centres (CCCs) across the state along with some being at home isolation.

In Assam, 2,09,936 COVID-19 patients have so far recovered from the disease and were discharged from different hospitals and CCCs and three have migrated to other states.

8:59 PM

Haryana recorded 1,065 new Covid-19 cases, 23 deaths in the last 24 hours

8:41 PM

1,222 new Covid-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh, recoveries grow by 1,347

Madhya Pradesh on Friday reported 1,222 fresh coronavirus positive cases, taking the infection count to 2,21,115. With the death of nine patients across the state due to the virus, the fatality count rose to 3,382. A total of 1,347 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the state's recovery figure to 2,04,641. Four persons died in Indore and one each in Bhopal, Sagar, Khandwa, Chhatarpur and Guna, the official said.

 

Of the 1,222 new cases, Indore accounted for 412 and Bhopal 258.

 

The number of cases in Indore rose to 47,839, including 803 deaths, while Bhopal's caseload stood at 35,395 with 538 fatalities. Indore now has 5,000 active cases, while this figure for Bhopal is 3,167. With 29,352 samples getting tested in the state in the last 24 hours, the number of tests rose to 40.82 lakh. The coronavirus figures of MP are as follows: Total cases 2,21,115, new cases 1,222, death toll 3,382, recovered 2,04,641, active cases 13,092, number of people tested so far 40,82,106.

8:17 PM

500 teams to be deployed to administer Covid-19 vaccine in Mumbai

At least 500 teams of five trained personnel each will be deployed for administering the COVID-19 vaccine in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Friday. The first to get inoculated will be health workers followed by frontline workers, people above the age of 50 and those suffering from co-morbidities, it said in a release.

 

The announcement was made by additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani in the first meeting of the city task force for vaccine distribution at the BMC headquarters on Friday, the release said. The Maharashtra government last month formed a task force to manage the distribution and administration of the COVID-19 vaccine in the state. A task force was also set up at the city level.

 

The selected beneficiaries of the vaccine will receive a message on their registered mobile numbers, Kakani, who heads the task force, said. The process of setting up committees at the regional level to oversee vaccination will also be completed soon, he said. As of Thursday, the COVID-19 caseload in Mumbai stood at 2,88,689, which includes 10,948 deaths.

8:02 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Maharashtra reports 4,268 new cases; tally now 1,872,440

The coronavirus tally in Maharashtra on Friday increased to 18,72,440 as 4,268 people tested positive for the infection. The fatality count due to the virus mounted to 48,059 as 87 patients died. A total of 2,774 patients were discharged, taking the recovery count to 17,49,973. The number of active patients in the state is 73,315.

 

Mumbai city recorded 654 positive cases on Friday, which pushed its overall case count to 2,89,350, while its death toll rose to 10,955, of which 13 were reported during the day.

 

The state has so far conducted 1,15,70,137 tests. Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally is as follows: Positive cases: 18,72,440, new cases: 4,268, death toll: 48,059, discharged: 17,49,973, active cases: 73,315, people tested so far: 1,15,70,137.

7:53 PM

Maharashtra reports 4,268 new Covid-19 cases, tally rises to 1,872,440

7:00 PM

Kerala's Covid-19 active cases below 60,000 mark

Kerala's active COVID- 19 cases fell to 59,380 on Friday with 4,748 recoveries and 4,642 new infections. In the last 24 hours, 53,508 samples were tested and the test positivity rate was 8.68 per cent, Health minister K K Shailaja said. So far, 68,61,907 samples have been sent for testing. Kozhikode accounted for the highest number of cases on Friday-626, followed by Malappuram 619, Kollam 482 and Ernakulam 409, waynad reported 87 and Kasaragod 71 cases, the minister said in a press release here.

 

The toll climbed to 2,562 with 29 recent deaths being confirmed due to coronavirus. Of the positive cases, 44 were health workers,73 came from outside the state and 4,028 were infected through contact. While the total caseload has mounted to 6,58,683, as many as 5,96,593 people have recuperated so far from the disease, the minister said. At least 3,15,644 people are under observation in various districts, including 13,542 in various hospitals.

6:21 PM

Delhi reports 2,385 new Covid-19 cases, 60 deaths in the last 24 hours

6:07 PM

Punjab has 729 cold chain points for Covid-19 vaccine storage

As the state gears up for the mega exercise with a total of 729 cold chain points, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday directed the Health Department to incorporate the results of the second sero survey in the strategy for Covid-19 vaccine roll-out so that the high-risk population is covered first.

 

At a high-level virtual meeting to review the coronavirus situation, the Chief Minister noted the state's readiness for the vaccine rollout in terms of database of priority lists; infrastructure for cold chain management; identification and training of vaccinators, etc. Apart from vaccine safety and vaccination site safety, correct and timely information communication was critical to the successful rollout of the vaccination, which is expected to be available soon in India, Amarinder Singh said.

 

Besides one state-level vaccine store, 22 district vaccine stores and 127 block level vaccine stories are being prepared for the roll-out of the vaccine in Punjab, which will also have 570 cold chain points.

5:22 PM

ADB launches $9-billion Covid-19 vaccine initiative for APAC members

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday said it has launched a USD 9-billion initiative that will offer support to its developing member economies to procure and deliver COVID-19 vaccines. ADB has launched a USD 9-billion vaccine initiative, the Asia-Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX), offering support to its developing members as they procure and deliver vaccines for COVID-19, it said in a release.

 

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said, "As ADB's developing members prepare to vaccinate their people as soon as possible, they need financing to procure vaccines as well as appropriate plans and knowledge to be able to...manage the vaccination process."

 

He further noted that APVAX will play a critical role to help its developing members meet challenges to overcome the pandemic and focus on economic recovery. ADB said that over 14.3 million COVID-19 positive cases have been identified in the Asia-Pacific region, causing more than 2 lakh deaths.

5:17 PM

Coronavirus test mandatory for tourists visiting Nainital, Mussoorie, says Uttarakhand HC

The Uttarakhand High Court has ordered mandatory COVID-19 test of tourists visiting Nainital and Mussoorie.

 

In an order dated December 9, ActingChief Justice Ravi Kumar Malimath and Justice Ravindra Maithani of the high court saidtourists visiting the two popular tourist towns be tested for coronavirus at the time of entry.

 

The order to resume testing of tourists comes ahead of Christmas and New Year holidays when large inflow of tourists is expected in Nainital and Mussoorie. COVID-19 cases have risen in Uttarakhand after the compulsory requirement for tourists to produce a negative RT-PCR report while entering the state was removed in September to boost tourism.

4:45 PM

Coronavirus latest update: Punjab orders extension of night curfew till January 1

4:30 PM

Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma tests positive for Covid-19

4:10 PM

LIVE: A mobile van set up for Covid-19 testing at Delhi-Haryana border

4:05 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Odisha reports 387 new Covid-19 cases, four fresh fatalities

Odisha's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 3,23,029 on Friday as 387 more people tested positive for the infection, while four fresh fatalities pushed the death toll in the coastal state to 1,798. Of the 387 new cases, 220 were reported from different quarantine centres and the rest detected during contact tracing. Sundargarh recorded the maximum number of new cases at 58, followed by Khurda at 51 and Angul at 27.

 

Taking to Twitter, the Health and Family Welfare Department said, "Regret to inform the demise of four COVID positive patients while undergoing treatment in hospitals."

 

The fresh fatalities were reported from Bargarh, Khurda, Malkangiri and Mayurbhanj. Fifty-three COVID-19 patients have so far died due to comorbidities, the official said. Khurda district, of which Bhubaneswar is a part, has accounted for 308 fatalities, followed by Ganjam (245), Sundargarh (152), Cuttack (137) and Puri (110).