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Coronavirus LIVE: India cases at 10,141,215; global death toll 1,740,762

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,909,951, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 912,340, Andhra Pradesh 879,718, Tamil Nadu 810,080, and Kerala 721,510

Image BS Web Team New Delhi
A Covid-19 testing station outside Seoul Station in Dec. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

A Covid-19 testing station outside Seoul Station in Dec. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

Coronavirus live updates: With 24,236 fresh Covid-19 cases, India's caseload now stands at 10,141,215. The country's death toll has mounted to 147,029. With 1,909,951 cases, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 912,340, Andhra Pradesh 879,718, Tamil Nadu 810,080, and Kerala 721,510.

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-I volunteers and tolerable safety outcomes in Phase-II study, the company said, suggesting the antibodies might persist for six to 12 months.
 
In Phase-II, 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.
 
World coronavirus update: The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 79,253,882. While 55,835,381 have recovered, 1,741,357 have died so far. The US, the worst-hit country, has 18,923,903 cases, and 334,129 have died from the disease there. It is followed by India, which has 10,123,544 cases, Brazil (7,366,677), Russia (2,963,688), France (2,505,875).

Stay tuned for the latest coronavirus-related news.
3:12 AM

Bollywood, reeling from coronavirus pandemic, shifts to streaming

“Coolie No. 1” has all the hallmarks of a big Bollywood film: colorful costumes, larger-than-life sets, foot-tapping music and a melodramatic story about a man who pretends he has a twin to woo the woman of his dreams.
 
After shooting wrapped in February, the film was set for a May theatrical release. But when “Coolie No. 1” finally reaches screens on Christmas Day, it will not show up in one of India’s 3,000 theaters. Instead, it will debut on Amazon’s streaming service.
 
“I make films for the theater, but this time there was no way we could do that,” said David Dhawan, the director. After the coronavirus pandemic barreled in and shut down movie theaters, the wait for a theatrical debut became excruciating, he said. So a deal to send the film to Amazon after its release shifted to a direct streaming plan.
 
“It’s a compromise, definitely,” said Mr. Dhawan, whose movie is a remake of a 1995 blockbuster of the same name that he also directed. “But at least my film is releasing.” Read more

ll the telecom operators have tied up with one or more OTT partner

3:01 AM

205 new coronavirus cases in Ahmedabad district, three deaths

Ahmedabad district recorded 205 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, highest in the state, the Gujarat Health Department said on Thursday evening.
 
It took the district's caseload to 56,412.
 
Three Covid-19 patients from the city died during this period, taking the death toll in the district to 2,226, the department said in a release.
 
Of 205 new coronavirus cases, 197 cases were from the city while only eight cases emerged from rural areas.
2:59 AM

Covid-19: Ghaziabad admin sets up dedicated wing for UK, Europe returnees

The Ghaziabad adminstration has established a dedicated wing inside the integrated Covid-19 control room to treat people who have returned from the UK and Europe after a new Covid-19 strain was found in Britain, officials said on Thursday.
 
Private Covid-19 hospitals have also been instructed to set up a separate wing and reserve beds to provide treatment to people suspected to be infected by the new strain of the virus, district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey told PTI.
2:56 AM

Masks, RT-PCR kits handed over to healthcare workers in J&K

In an effort to protect frontline workers and improve compliance around wearing face masks, Action Against COVID-19 Team (ACT) Grants along with Ekdesh, a non-profit organisation, on Thursday handed over one lakh N95 masks, 15,000 RT-PCR and RNA extraction kits and high flow oxygen cannula (HFNC) devices for healthcare workers in Jammu and Kashmir.
 
The mask distribution drive was flagged off by Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education, Atal Dulloo in presence of volunteers and local coordinator Ashim Khuda and Founder of Ekdesh Poonam Kaul in Jammu.
9:07 PM

Zydus Cadila seeks nod for phase three clinical trials of Covid vaccine

Zydus Cadila on Thursday submitted data from phase one and two clinical trials for its coronavirus vaccine ZyCov-D and sought approval for the next phase of tests. The vaccine was found to be safe and well tolerated in tests on more than a thousand healthy adult volunteers, said the company, adding phase three clinical trial in around 30,000 volunteers upon receiving necessary approvals.
 
The multi-centre and randomized trials were reviewed by an independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). Reports have been submitted to Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) regularly for the update on safety outcome.
 
Zydus Group chairperson Pankaj Patel said that company is optimistic of the phase III clinical trial outcomes as well. "We would be able to start production of the novel vaccine on its successful completion," he said. READ ON...

Coronavirus, vaccine, covid, drugs, clinical trials
8:56 PM

Centre chooses Punjab to conduct dry run for Covid-19 vaccine

8:45 PM

Delhi reports 1,063 new Covid-19 cases; total caseload 620,681

8:38 PM

Gujarat govt collected Rs 115 crore in fines from mask violators

The Gujarat government on Thursday informed the Gujarat High Court that it has collected nearly Rs 115 crore in fines from over 23 lakh people found without masks amid the coronavirus outbreak. The state government, in its affidavit, stated that till December 22, Rs 1,15,88,00,000 have been collected from 23,64,420 persons for not wearing masks or appropriately covering their faces.
 
The affidavit was submitted to the division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice J B Pardiwala.
 
The bench is hearing a suo motu plea regarding various aspects related to the COVID-19 outbreak in the state. The bench admitted the reply and kept further hearing on January 8. While listing several steps it had taken to stem the viral spread, the state government said it had restricted celebrations of various festivals, such as Navratri, Eid, Janmashtmi and Holi.
8:25 PM

Maharashtra reports 3,580 new Covid-19 infections; state tally rises to 1,909,951

8:21 PM

Covid-19 LIVE: Rajasthan records 1,001 fresh cases, eight more fatalities

With 1,001 fresh cases, Rajasthan's COVID-19 tally went up to 3,02,709 on Thursday while eight more fatalities pushed the death toll due to the disease to 2,650 in the state. Two deaths were reported from Jodhpur while Bundi, Chittorgarh, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Pali and Tonk recorded a death each, according to an official report issued here.
 
Of the fresh cases, Jaipur reported the maximum of 175 while Kota and Jodhpur recorded 113 and 100 respectively. The remaining cases were reported from other districts.
 
A total of 2,88,388 COVID-19 patients have recovered from the infection so far in the state, while the number of active cases is 11,759, the report said.
7:56 PM

Coronavirus LIVE updates: 5,177 new Covid-19 positive cases in Kerala

Of the 56,073 samples that were tested across Kerala on Thursday, 5,177 people tested positive for Covid-19, a statement from state Health Minister K.K. Shailaja said. The statement also said that there are 63,155 active cases in the state at present. On a positive note, 4,801 people got cured on Thursday, taking the totalnumber of recoveries to 6,60,455.
 
Meanwhile, 22 persons succumbed to the dreaded virus on Thursday, taking the state's death toll to 2,914. Across the state there are 2,70,725 people under observation, including 13,712 in hospitals. There are 459 hotspots in the state at present.
7:28 PM

Andhra Pradesh Covid-19 caseload crosses 8.80 lakh; Active cases 3,862

The total COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh crossed the 8.80 lakh mark on Thursday with 357 more people testing positive for the infection. After a sum of 1.14 crore sample tests, 8,80,075 turned positive for coronavirus at an overall positivity rate of 7.67 per cent, the latest government bulletin said. The total recoveries increased to 8,69,124 as 355 patients got cured in 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday.
 
The overall COVID-19 toll in the state rose to 7,089 as four more succumbed during the period, the bulletin said.
 
The active case count fell to 3,862. East Godavari district reported 58 fresh cases while Chittoor and Krishna added 54 each, followed by Guntur 42. The remaining nine districts added less than 30 new cases each. Anantapuramu, Krishna, Kadapa and West Godavari districts reported one more COVID-19 fatality each on Thursday.
7:10 PM

Fully ready to receive, store, give vaccine to 51 lakh priority category people in Delhi: Kejriwal

The Delhi government is fully prepared to receive, store and administer COVID-19 vaccine to 51 lakh priority category persons in the city in the first phase of vaccination, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday. He said his government is all set to start the vaccination drive as soon as it gets the vaccine from the Centre, and registration is underway for people in three priority categories who will receive it first.
 
Asked about the charges for the vaccine, and if it will be free of cost, a senior official in the Chief Minister's Office said the government has not taken any decision in this regard so far.
 
"There are a total of 51 lakh priority category persons in Delhi -- three lakh health workers, six lakh frontline workers, and 42 lakh of those aged above 50 and those below 50 but having co-morbidities," the chief minister said at a virtual press briefing.
 
Each person will be given two doses, and a total of 1.02 crore doses will be required in the first phase of vaccination in Delhi, he said. Currently, there is storage capacity for 74 lakh doses, and it will be scaled up to 1.15 crore within a week, Kejriwal said.
6:45 PM

Delhi's North-West district logs highest Covid-19 cases in Dec, shows govt data

Out of the eleven districts of the national capital, the North-West district recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases this month, according to a recent Delhi government data. The North-West district, with over 36 lakh population and area of 440 square km, recorded 7,316 coronavirus cases from December 1 to 19, the highest among all the districts in the national capital. South-West and West districts recorded 6,723 and 5,923 coronavirus cases in 19 days, respectively.
 
The data was submitted to the Delhi High Court on Wednesday on a petition seeking ramping up of testing. There is, however, an uneven spread of cases in the districts. The city's most densely populated North-East district logged only 1,483 cases - lowest among all the districts.
 
Suneela Garg, advisor to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), told IANS that there is diversity among all the districts due to different population density, socio-economic profile and religious distribution.
6:16 PM

Asymptomatic passengers won't be tested on arrival: Maharashtra govt

Passengers arriving from Europe, South Africa and the Middle-East will not be subjected to RT- PCR test for coronavirus immediately upon arrival, the Maharashtra government said in a fresh circular on Thursday. The circular amended the Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) issued for dealing with passengers arriving from these regions on December 21 following the detection of a new variant of coronavirus in the UK.
 
Seven-day institutional quarantine has been made mandatory for asymptomatic passengers arriving from Europe, South Africa and the Middle-East. Symptomatic passengers are immediately shifted to designated hospitals.
 
The circular said that no RT-PCR test will be conducted on arrival for asymptomatic passengers. The test will be conducted at the hotel where the passenger is quarantined between 5th and 7th day, it said, adding that the cost of test will be borne by the passenger.

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First Published: Dec 24 2020 | 6:59 AM IST