Coronavirus news highlights: Maharashtra reports 3,717 new Covid-19 cases, 3,083 discharges

India's Covid-19 tally reached 98.8 lakh and death toll rose to 1.43 lakh. On Sunday, BJP national president J P Nadda announced that he tested positive for Covid-19, while the USA began final preparations for administration of the first wave of the Covid-19 vaccine, as the global death toll crossed 1.6 million. Stay tuned for more updates.

Next four to six months could be worst of pandemic: Bill Gates

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whose foundation has been part of the effort to develop and deliver Covid-19 vaccines, warned on Sunday that the next four to six months could be the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

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State Minister Anil Vij has been admitted to PGIMS Rohtak due to advance symptoms of Covid: Gajendra Singh, PRO, PGI Rohtak -ANI

State Minister Anil Vij has been admitted to PGIMS Rohtak due to advance symptoms of Covid. His condition is stable. A team of doctors will take a decision on whether he needs to be given plasma therapy. He has been given a course of Remdesivir: Dr Gajendra Singh, PRO, PGI Rohtak

'Destroyed' by Covid-19 effects, Lewis Hamilton says 'glad race all over'

An exhausted Lewis Hamilton admitted he was physically exhausted and felt relieved to complete the race after he finished third for champions Mercedes in Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

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Worst-hit US launches virus vaccine shipments

Trucks on Sunday began shipping millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccine in the United States, part of an enormous logistics operation that should see some vulnerable people being vaccinated as early as Monday in the nation worst hit by the coronavirus.

Health care workers and nursing home residents will be among the first to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech shots, though it will likely be months before all those who want it can be vaccinated, officials said. -AFP

With 424 new Covid-19 cases, 740 recoveries & 8 deaths in the last 24 hours, the total number of positive cases in Himachal Pradesh rises to 49,375 -ANI

With 424 new Covid-19 cases, 740 recoveries & 8 deaths in the last 24 hours, the total number of positive cases in Himachal Pradesh rises to 49,375

Total active cases: 7,251

Total recovered cases: 41,278

Death toll: 801

Madhya Pradesh's Covid-19 case count rises by 1,181, recoveries by 1,278

Madhya Pradesh on Sunday reported 1,181 fresh coronavirus positive cases, taking the infection count to 2,23,578, health officials said.

With 13 patients succumbing to the viral infection, the overall death toll rose to 3,404, they said.

A total of 1,278 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the state's recovery count to 2,07,337. -PTI

Nagpur district sees 300 new Covid-19 cases, 534 recoveries

Nagpur district in Maharashtra on Sunday reported 300 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the total count of infections to 1,17,211, as per an official release. -PTI

382 new Covid-19 cases take J-K's tally to 1,16,008; death toll 1,799

The Covid-19 death toll in Jammu and Kashmir rose to 1,799 on Sunday with six more fatalities, while 382 new cases took the infection tally to 1,16,008, officials said.

Of the new cases, 198 were from Kashmir and 184 were from Jammu division of the the Union Territory, they said. -PTI

US expects to have immunized 100 million against Covid-19 by the end of Q1 2021- Slaoui

The United States expects to have immunized 100 million people with the coronavirus vaccine by the end of the first quarter of 2021, the chief US adviser for efforts on Covid-19 vaccines said on Sunday. -Reuters

1,175 new Covid-19 cases, 1,347 discharged cases and 11 deaths reported in Gujarat today. Active cases now at 13,298: State Health Department -ANI

36 more test Covid-19 positive at Kerala's Sabarimala temple premises

As many as 36 more persons at 'Sannidhanam' (temple premises) at Sabarimala Ayyappa temple were tested Covid positive in a mass test conducted on Saturday.

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Karnataka reports 1,196 new Covid-19 cases, 2,036 discharges -ANI

Karnataka reports 1,196 new Covid-19 cases, 2,036 discharges, and 5 deaths today.

Total cases: 9,01,410

Active cases: 17,409

Total recovered cases: 8,72,038

Death toll: 11,944

Maharashtra reports 3,717 new Covid-19 cases, 3,083 discharges -ANO

Maharashtra reports 3,717 new Covid-19 cases, 3,083 discharges, and 70 deaths today, as per State Health Department

Total cases 18,80,416

Total discharges: 17,57,005

Death toll 48,209

Active cases 74,104

The statement of Kerala CM that Covid-19vaccine will be free in the state is a clear breach of model code of conduct. BJP has given a complaint to the Election Commission on this: Kerala BJP President K Surendran

Spain could develop coronavirus herd immunity by end of summer 2021, minister says

Spain should achieve herd immunity from Covid-19 by the end of summer 2021 if enough people are vaccinated by then, the health minister said in an interview published on Sunday.

Salvador Illa said a vaccination programme will start in January and by the end of the summer more than two thirds of the population of 47 million should be vaccinated. -Reuters

Manipur reported 119 new Covid-19 cases, 102 recoveries today -ANI

Manipur reported 119 new Covid-19 cases, 102 recoveries today, says State Health Department, Manipur

Total cases so far: 27,155

Total recoveries: 23,759

Active cases: 3,074

Total Deaths till date: 322

Recovery rate: 87.49%

Coronavirus cases in The Netherlands rise by nearly 10,000 in 24 hours - Reuters

Kerala reports 4,698 new Covid-19 cases -ANI

4,698 fresh positive cases and 5,258 recoveries reported in Kerala today.

Total numbers of active and recovered cases are 59,438 and 6,07,119 respectively.

US set for mass vaccinations as global coronavirus deaths top 1.6 million

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine was to begin leaving the company's Michigan factory on Sunday, ready to be injected into the arms of millions of the most vulnerable Americans as the global death toll topped 1.6 million.

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Tamil Nadu reported 1,195 new Covid-19 cases, 1,276 discharges, and 12 deaths - ANI

Tamil Nadu reported 1,195 new Covid-19 cases, 1,276 discharges, and 12 deaths in the last 24 hours: State Health Department, Govt of Tamil Nadu

Total positive cases: 7,98,888

Total discharges: 7,76,878

Death toll: 11,895

Active cases: 10,115

Delhi reports 1,984 new Covid-19 cases

Positive Cases: 1,984

Tests Conducted: 72,335

Positivity Rate: 2.74 %

Recovered/Discharged/Migrated: 2,539

Deaths: 33

Death Rate (Based on last 10 days' data): 2.32 %

J P Nadda tests positive for Covid-19

Andhra Pradesh reports 506 new Covid-19 cases -ANI

Andhra Pradesh reports 506 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours taking the total number of cases in the state to 8,75,531, as per State Health Department

Total active cases stand at 4,966.

Germany tightens virus lockdown rules over Christmas period

Germany is closing most stores and schools, and further limiting social contacts in an effort to drive down the rate of coronavirus infections that have remained stubbornly high in recent weeks.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said she and the governors of Germany's 16 states agreed Sunday to step up the country's lockdown measures from December 16 to January 10 to stop the exponential rise of Covid-19 cases. -AP

We have advised 14 days of home isolation and quarantine period to the Covid patients. We would not be putting posters outside their houses until further notice: Jodhpur Chief Medical Officer -ANI

S Korea's Moon warns of toughest Covid-19 curbs after 2 days of record cases

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in warned on Sunday that Covid-19 restrictions may be raised to the highest level after a second day of record increases in cases as the country battles a harsh third wave of infection.

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There has been absolutely no compromise in clinical testing of Covid-19 vaccines: Gangandeep Kang

Seeking to allay apprehension of people over safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines, noted clinical scientist Gagandeep Kang said that though vaccines for the coronavirus are being developed in a short period of time, there has been absolutely no compromise in their clinical testing.

Kang, who is associated with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, a global consortium involved in facilitating vaccine candidates for the novel coronavirus, also said that there should be equitable Covid-19 vaccine access globally and domestically. -PTI

India's active Covid caseload falls to 3.62% of total cases: Health ministry

Steadily following the trend set over the past few weeks, India's Covid-19 active caseload has fallen to 3.62 per cent of the total cases, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday.

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How the novel coronavirus hijacks and damages lung cells decoded

Scientists have decoded the chain of molecular responses of human lung cells to infection with the novel coronavirus, an advance which may aid in the identification of clinically approved medications that can be re-purposed for Covid-19 treatment.

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Bahrain approves registration for Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine

Bahrain's National Health Regulatory Authority said on Sunday it had approved the registration of a coronavirus vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm).

The statement did not specify which vaccine among the two being developed by Sinopharm, but cited data from Phase III clinical trials that showed an 86% efficacy rate and said Bahrain had participated in those trials. -Reuters.

Kerala CM's free Covid vaccine announcement dubbed an election gimmick

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's announcement that Covid-19 vaccines will be provided free of cost to all has triggered a political row with the Congress and BJP alleging that the promise is a violation of the election code of conduct.

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Russia reports 28,080 new coronavirus cases, 488 deaths

Russia confirmed 28,080 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours on Sunday, including 6,425 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 2,653,928 since the pandemic began.

Authorities said 488 people had died overnight, taking the official death toll to 46,941.

Covid-19-positive Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij shifted to Rohtak hospital

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij, who had tested positive for coronavirus recently, has been shifted to the PGIMS hospital at Rohtak from the civil hospital here after he complained of discomfort, doctors here said on Sunday.

Doctors said the minister was shifted on Saturday night.

Ambala's Civil Surgeon Dr. Kuldeep Singh said a team of doctors at the Rohtak hospital was monitoring his condition.

Vij, who had last month got one shot of the two-dose trial of the COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin after he offered to be a volunteer, had on December 5 tested positive for the coronavirus.

India’s active caseload has fallen to 3.62% of total active cases.

India has reported more daily recoveries than daily new cases during past 24 hrs. Trend of more daily recoveries than daily cases has led to contraction of active caseload which is at 3,56,546: Health Ministry

11 new Covid-19 cases push Mizoram's tally to 4,035

Eleven more people, including four security personnel, have tested positive for Covid-19 in Mizoram, pushing the tally to 4,035, an official said on Sunday.

Of the 11 fresh cases, five were reported from Aizawl district, three from Serchhip, two from Lawngtlai and one case from Lunglei district, he said.

Two army personnel, who have returned to Mizoram on vacation and two Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were among the newly infected people, he said.

India's recovery rate at 94.93%

Italy has Europe's worst virus death toll: AFP tally

Italy on Saturday became the European country with the highest pandemic toll, its new total of 64,036 deaths overtaking Britain, according to an AFP tally.

The Italian health ministry said that 649 people had succumbed to the virus in the previous 24 hours and that 19,903 new cases had been diagnosed.

Worldwide, the United States has reported the highest number of Covid-19 deaths, with 295,539 as of Saturday at 1100 GMT, followed by Brazil, India and Mexico.

According to the AFP tally for Europe, Italy overtook Britain, which has reported 64,026 deaths and is followed by France with 57,567 and Spain with 47,624.

Active Covid-19 cases in India stand at 3,56,546 while 93,57,464 people have recovered from the disease so far: Union Health Ministry

India's GDP contraction in FY 21 likely closer to 10%: Pronab Sen

India's current macroeconomic situation is "very uncertain" and the country's GDP could contract closer to 10 per cent in the current fiscal, former chief statistician Pronab Sen said on Sunday.

In an interview with PTI, Sen said that although the overall macro-management of the economy by the Modi government has not been very good but this particular slowdown is really beyond its control.

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Jharkhand reports 189 new Covid-19 cases; tally rises to 1,11,366

Jharkhand's Covid-19 tally mounted to 1,11,366 as 189 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Sunday.

The Covid-19 death toll remained at 995 as no fresh fatality has been reported in the last 24 hours, he said.

Historic US Covid vaccine campaign launches with convoy of trucks

Tractor trailers loaded with suitcase-sized containers of Covid-19 vaccine will leave Pfizer Inc's manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Sunday morning - launching the largest and most complex vaccine distribution project in the United States, where the virus is raging.

US regulators late on Friday authorized the vaccine from Pfizer and partner BioNTech for use, and US marshals will accompany the tightly secured shipments from factory to final destination.

"We have spent months strategizing with Operation Warp Speed officials and our healthcare customers on efficient vaccine logistics, and the time has arrived to put the plan into action," Wes Wheeler, president of UPS Healthcare, said on Saturday.

Pfizer's dry-ice cooled packages can hold as many as 4,875 doses, and the first leg of their journey will be from Kalamazoo to planes positioned nearby. Workers will load the vaccine - which must be kept at sub-Arctic temperatures - onto the aircraft that will shuttle them to United Parcel Service or FedEx air cargo hubs in Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee, respectively.

From there, they will be trucked or flown to facilities close to the 145 US sites earmarked to receive the first doses.

Indian startup develops tech to complete Covid-19 sero survey of 1 cr samples in a week

Indian IT startup Thalamus Irwine claims to have developed an Artificial Intelligence and IoT-based solution to complete a sero survey with 1 crore samples of Covid-19 cases within a week.

The Delhi-based company has partnered with state-run ITI to host its data and also done a proof of concept with the public sector firm.

"We have developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based system to analyse samples tested for Covid-19 within a few microseconds. We connect our AI-Internet of Things (IoT) platform, Garuda, with our partner device that analyses data in real time. Through our technology, we can conduct sero survey with 1 crore actual samples in a week," Thalamus Irwine chairman Rishabh Sharma told PTI.

Sero survey or Seroprevalence studies are based on analysis of antibodies collected through blood sample collection.

437 new Covid-19 cases in Thane, tally reaches 2,35,798

The Covid-19 tally in Thane district of Maharashtra has gone up to 2,35,798 with the addition of 437 new cases, an official said on Sunday.

The death toll due to coronavirus in the district has risen to 5,809 after eight more people succumbed to the infection, he said.

As of now, there are 6,339 active Covid-19 cases in the district, while 2,23,650 patients have recovered, the official said.

The Covid-19 recovery rate in the district is 94.85 per cent, while the mortalityrate is 2.46 per cent.

China reports 24 new Covid-19 cases, monitoring tourist spot Hainan

China reported 24 new coronavirus cases in the mainland on Sunday, up from 13 cases a day earlier, while the authorities were monitoring possible contacts in the domestic tourism hotspot of Hainan.

There were five local cases and 19 imported infections on Saturday, according to a statement by the National Health Commission.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 14 from 17 a day earlier.

As of Saturday, mainland China had 86,725 confirmed coronavirus cases, the health authority said. The Covid-19 death toll remained at 4,634.

Two tourists visiting Sanya in Hainan, China's southernmost island province, were found to be in close contact with an asymptomatic case in Xian in northwest China, after they had lunch with this person on Wednesday.

Hainan, known as the "Hawaii of China", has been free of coronavirus for six months, drawing eager shoppers to duty-free malls, couples seeking a sub-tropical backdrop for wedding pictures, and surfers just looking to "breathe freely".

Telangana reported 573 new #Covid-19 cases, 4 deaths and 609 recoveries on 12th December.

With 30,254 new Covid-19 infections, India's total cases rise to 98,57,029

With 391 new deaths, toll mounts to 1,43,019. Total active cases at 3,56,546

Total discharged cases at 93,57,464 with 33,136 new discharges in the last 24 hours.

Covid-19 death rate among men 2.1 times more than amid women, finds Karnataka data

The death rate among men with Covid-19 is nearly 2.1 times that of women, an assessment by state health authorities has found.

The finding tallies with an international study that finds that men hit with Covid-19 are not only more prone to going into ICU but that most of the deaths that have happened in ICUs are of men.

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'AstraZeneca vaccine to be available in India in 2021'

Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine can be available in the country as early as the first half of next year, AstraZeneca Country President Gagandeep Singh said on Saturday.

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Coronavirus: ICMR set to start third serosurvey in Dec-Jan

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is set to start its third sero-surveillance across the nation in December-January to find out the prevalence of the Covid-19 epidemic, a year after the disease struck the world’s second-most populous nation.

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CDC advisory panel recommends COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use

A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel on Saturday recommended the nation's first Covid-19 vaccine, helping clear the way for public health authorities to begin the largest vaccination campaign in US history.

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Brazil rolls out Covid-19 vaccination plan

The Brazilian government unveiled its long-awaited national vaccination plan against Covid-19 on Saturday with an initial goal of vaccinating 51 million people, or about one-fourth of the population, in the first half of 2021.

In a document sent to the Supreme Court, which had given the government a deadline to draw up the plan, the Health Ministry said 108 million doses will be available for priority vaccination of vulnerable groups that include health workers, elderly people and indigenous communities.

Panama reports record 2,806 new coronavirus cases

Panama registered a record 2,806 new cases of coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking the total number in the Central American country to 190,585, while deaths climbed by 22 to 3,331 overall, the health ministry said in a statement.

The record surpassed a previous high of 2,447 new cases reported by the Panamanian government earlier this month.

South Korea reports 1,030 new coronavirus case, record daily rise

South Korea reported a record daily increase in novel coronavirus cases for a second straight day with 1,030 new infections, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Sunday.

Of the new cases, 1,002 were locally transmitted, which bring the total tally to 42,766 infections, with 580 deaths.

Mexico City cuts shopping hours in center to combat coronavirus

Mexico City's government on Saturday said shops in the center of the capital and other busy areas would temporarily have to close at 5 p.m. to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection as authorities battle a surge in cases.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum says the city is now in a state of "emergency" but like President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, she has opted not to impose binding restrictions, instead urging residents to stay at home and reduce their socializing.