Coronavirus News Updates: Delhi's tally of patients with new COVID-19 strain rises to 9; no UK variant in Mizoram, says health minister

Efforts on to deliver 2 cr doses of COVID-19 vaccine to 41 places by Jan 8: AAICLAS official

A senior official of AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Co Ltd (AAICLAS) on Wednesday said the work to deliver two crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine to 41 destinations across the country from Pune by 8 January is underway. On the sidelines of a programme in Indore, AAICLAS Chief Operating Officer K Selvakumar told reporters , “In the first phase, two crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine are to be delivered from Pune to 41 destinations across the country with the help of more than 100 flights.” This delivery is planned from 6 January to 8 January.

PTI

Two more Delhi residents test positive for new variant

Two more Delhi residents have tested positive for the new coronavirus strain as a result of door-to-door medical check up of people who have recently arrived from the United Kingdom and those who came in their contact in the city, an official said on Wednesday. With this, nine residents of the national capital have so far been found infected with the new coronavirus variant that has emerged in the UK. So far, 66 people, including those who recently returned from UK and their contacts, have tested positive for coronavirus. Most of them have been been kept in separate isolation facility at LNJP Hospital, sources said.

PTI

EU commission greenlights Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine

The European Union’s executive commission gave the green light Wednesday to Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine, providing the 27-nation bloc with a second vaccine to use in the desperate battle to tame the virus rampaging across the continent. The European Commission granted conditional marketing authorization for the vaccine. The decision came against a backdrop of high infection rates in many EU countries and strong criticism of the slow pace of vaccinations across the region of some 450 million people. “We are providing more COVID-19 vaccines for Europeans. With the Moderna vaccine, the second one now authorized in the EU, we will have a further 160 million doses. And more vaccines will come," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.

AP

Telangana guv hails COVID-19 vaccine development, pitches for keeping aside controversies

  Raising doubts over clearance for COVID-19 vaccines have the potential to create ‘unfounded’ panic and keeping aside controversies, people should be made partners in the world’s biggest vaccination programme in the country, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said on Wednesday  Observing that the country was poised to emerge as a global supplier of COVID-19 vaccine, she said its role in the massive production and supply of the vaccine was crucial for public health at the global level, especially in the context of underdeveloped and developing countries, she said “Keeping aside all the controversies, we must prepare and make the people partner in the worlds biggest vaccination programme in our country as stated by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Soundararajan, a medical doctor, said.

PTI

Emergency approval in India to help supply COVID-19 vaccine across the globe: AstraZeneca

Terming approval of its COVID-19 vaccine in India as an important milestone, drug major AstraZeneca on Wednesday said the development would also help in supplying the medication to countries around the world.   The company has partnered with the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, for the supply of the vaccine to the Indian government and also to a large number of low and middle-income countries. 

The vaccine has shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations more than 14 days after the second dose, it added.  The drug firm further stated that it is working with its global partners to continue building manufacturing capacity of up to three billion doses of the vaccine globally in 2021 on a rolling basis, pending regulatory approvals.   “These emergency use authorisations will soon bring the vaccine to many millions of people and are proof of our long-held commitment to broad and equitable access around the world,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said.  The company expects that this effective, well-tolerated and simple-to-administer vaccine will now begin to have a real impact on the deadly virus, he added.  “We would like to thank the regulators for their swift and decisive actions and our partner, Serum Institute of India, for its substantial contribution to this global effort,” Soriot said. 

PTI

Harsh Vardhan to hold meeting with state health ministers on 7 January

The government’s press release further added that a meeting Dr Harsh Vardhan will hold a meeting with state/UT health ministers on 7 January to guide states/UTs on the conduct of dry run. “The entire planning of the vaccination drive including beneficiary registration, microplanning and vaccination at the planned session site, will be tested under the leadership of District Collector/District Magistrate. The dry run will also familiarize the state, district, block and hospital level officers on all aspects of COVID-19 (vaccine) roll out,” the release said.

Nationwide vaccination dry run on 8 January

As a simulation of actual execution of the coronavirus vaccination drive, another round of dry run/mock drill in all 700+ districts of all States/UTs (except Uttar Pardesh and Haryana who have already conducted/ will be conducting the dry run in all districts on 5 January and 7 January respectively) is planned on 8 January, said the Union Health Ministry in a  press release . The exercise is being carried out to ensure efficient planning and management for vaccine delivery in each district of all States/UTs, the statement said, adding that each district will identify three types of session sites, similar to the previous dry run, including a public health facility (District Hospital/Medical College), private health facility and rural or urban outreach sites.

Maharashtra logs 4,382 new cases, 66 deaths

Maharashtra reports 4,382 new COVID-19 cases and 66 deaths, pushing tally to 19,54,553 and toll to 49,825, reports PTI quoting a health  official.

Health ministry cautions people against fake Co-WIN app

The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday cautioned people against downloading and sharing personal information on some apps named Co-WIN, “created by unscrupulous elements”, that sound similar to the upcoming official platform ofthe government for carrying out the COVID-19 vaccination process.  “Some apps named ‘Co-WIN’ apparently created by unscrupulous elements to sound similar to upcoming official platform of Government, are on Appstores. DO NOT download or share personal information on these. MoHFW Official platform will be adequately publicised on its launch,” the Union Health ministry tweeted. The Co-WIN (COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network) app,a digital platform created for real-time monitoring of COVID-19 vaccine delivery and distribution by the Centre, is almost in its final stages of implementation and hasn’t gone live on Google play store or any other app store.

PTI

Centre rushes high-level team to Kerala as cases rise

The Centre has deployed a high level team headed by Dr SK Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to Kerala, said a statement by the Union health ministry. The team will reach the state day after tomorrow. (Friday). The team will review the public health interventions in management of COVID- 19 by the state government and support the health authorities in these measures, the statement said.

Kerala has been reporting very high daily new cases since the past many days and a total of 35,038 new cases were logged during the last seven days, said the health ministry. Around 5,000 new cases are added daily to the state’s COVID-19 tally, it further said.

Revoke order allowing 100% occupancy in cinema theatres, MHA tells Tamil Nadu

The Centre has asked the Tamil Nadu government to roll back its decision to increase the occupancy in cinema halls from 50 percent to 100 percent, pointing out that the move amounts to diluting the Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines stipulating that cinema theatres, multiplexes outside containment zones have been allowed to open with 50 percent capacity, said reports. The state government’s order on Monday had faced flak from experts and citizens who had expressed concerns that a full house capacity could turn cinema halls into COVID hotspots. The letter by a doctor to the state government and actors Vijay and Simbu criticising the dceision and describing the efforts of healthcare workers had also gone viral on social media.

EU’s medicine watchdog clears Moderna’s COVID-19 vacccine

The EU’s medicines watchdog approved a coronavirus jab by US firm Moderna on Wednesday, giving a shot in the arm for Europe’s slow-moving vaccine roll-out, reports news agency AFP.The vaccine is the second to be authorised by the European Medicines Agency for the 27-nation bloc after Pfizer-BioNTech’s got the green light in late December.

“EMA has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation for COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna to prevent Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in people from 18 years of age,” said a statement. A very large clinical trial showed that COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna was effective at preventing COVID-19 in people from 18 years of age, it added.

“This vaccine provides us with another tool to overcome the current emergency,” EMA Executive Director Emer Cooke said in a statement. “It is a testament to the efforts and commitment of all involved that we have this second positive vaccine recommendation just short of a year since the pandemic was declared by WHO,” she added.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said it was “good news for our efforts to bring more Covid-19 vaccines to Europeans!” 

Cases of UK mutant strain in India climb to 73: Health Ministry

With two more persons testing positive for the new UK coronavirus strain, the total number of persons infected with has gone up to 73, said the Union health ministry.

Misunderstanding, says China on delay in permissions for team probing virus origin

China on Wednesday acknowledged that there could be some “misunderstanding” between Beijing and the World Health Organisation over granting timely permission to experts to visit the country to probe the origin of the coronavirus, even as it gave no indication about when it will allow them to come. In a rare instance of criticism from the global body, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a media conference in Geneva on Tuesday said, “Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team’s arrival in China. “I’m very disappointed with this news, given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute, but had been in contact with senior Chinese officials.”  Tedros said he made it clear that the mission was a priority for the UN health agency. We are eager to get the mission underway as soon as possible, he said.

The delay by China to finalise the WHO team’s arrival is fuelling concern that Beijing is obstructing global efforts to trace the origins of COVID-19, which has so far killed over 1,870,800 people worldwide after the disease broke out in central China’s Wuhan city one year ago.

PTI

SEC changed stance on Covaxin approval in 24 hours, say reports citing minutes of meeting

A Subject Expert Committee changed its mind on approval to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin within 24 hours last week, reported the Indian Express citing the minutes of the panel’s meetings on 1 and 2 January. As per the report, on 1 January, the panel noted that Covaxin had the “potential” to target mutated coronavirus strains but added that data presented by the firm at that point was not convincing enough for the panel to recommend restricted emergency use approval. However on 2 January, citing efficacy data from a challenge study on non-human primates, the committee recommended approval for restricted use in emergency situations for Covaxin “in clinical trial mode” after Bharat Biotech requested its proposal be considered “in the wake of incidence of new mutated coronavirus infection”. The minutes say that Bharat Biotech presented “updated data” and “justification” but do not elaborate on the nature of the same.

Delhi reports 654 more cases, 16 deaths

Delhi recorded 654 fresh COVID-19 cases and16 more fatalities on Wednesday, even as the positivity rate stood at 0.88 percent, reports PTI quoting authorities. The infection tally in the city rose to 6.28 lakh and the toll mounted to 10,625, they said. The national capital had recorded 442 cases on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 0.55 percent.  The active cases tally on Wednesday dropped to 4,481 from 4,562 the previous day. The bulletin said the total number of cases has climbed to 6,28,352. 

PTI

EU’s medicines agency considers approval to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine

The European Union’s medicines agency was meeting onWednesday to consider giving the green light to Moderna Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine, reports news agency The Associated Press. The meeting of the European Medicines Agency’s human medicines committee (CHMP) comes amid high rates of infections in many EU countries and strong criticism of the slow pace of vaccinations across the region of some 450 million people. The EMA has already approved a coronavirus vaccine made by American drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. Both vaccines require giving people two shots.

Ahead of the meeting on the Moderna vaccine, the agency said in a tweet that its experts were “working hard to clarify all outstanding issues with the company.” It did not elaborate on what those issues were. Moderna also declined to comment.

Pakistan relaxes rules to procure COVID-19 vaccine on emergency basis

The Pakistan government has relaxed the rules to procure COVID-19 vaccine on emergency basis, officials said on Wednesday. The decision to relax the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules to purchase the vaccine was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, they said. As per the decision, there will be no need to fulfil the tender requirement to procure the vaccine, which will be purchased from any of the six companies registered with the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS). “The federal cabinet, in order to save human lives timely and on an emergency basis, accorded approval for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccine by the Ministry of Health, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

PTI

Strategy on re-opening Delhi schools to depend on vaccine availability, says Manish Sisodia

“Brainstorming is on for how early schools can be reopened in Delhi, especially for board classes as the dates for exams have already been announced, said Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia “The strategy to reopen schools will depend on how early COVID-19 vaccine is available for public after frontline workers are vaccinated,” he added. 

Sisodia also announced that the Delhi government is organising an international education conference from 11 to 17 January  on how should the education sector be in a post-COVID world. 

PTI

COVID-19 vaccination dry run in Tamil Nadu on 8 Jan

COVID-19 vaccination dry run in Tamil Nadu will be held on 8 January, reports the Times of India quoting state health secretary J Radhakrishnan. “We need to check the design of the waiting room, vaccination room and observation room, the entry points, availability of space and time taken to cover 100 persons a day. All these aspects will be rehearsed during the dry run," The Hindu quotes the health secretary as saying.

Thailand plans to expand coronavirus testing to factories in Samut Sakhon province

Authorities in Thailand say they plan to expand coronavirus testing to thousands of factories in the Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok as they reported 365 new cases around the country and one new death. Authorities have focused their efforts on migrant workers in the province next to the capital that has been the epicenter of a new outbreak and where thousands work in its mainly seafood processing factories and markets. They have has also focused on trying to trace itinerant gamblers who travel widely around the country and are blamed for a second major hotspot outside Bangkok. Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesperson for the COVID-19 coordinating center, said there were plans to test workers at more than 10,000 factories in Samut Sakhon, 100 of which have more than 500 employees each. 

AP

Thailand’s COVID-19 coordinating center said Wednesday that of the 365 new cases, 250 were local transmissions among Thais, 99 were migrant workers and 16 were arrivals to the country isolated in quarantine centers. That brought the total since the pandemic began to 9,331, including 66 deaths.

Punjab schools to open for Classes 5 to 12 from 7 January

The Punjab government has decided to reopen all schools from 7 January for students of classes 5 to 12. State Education minister Vijay Inder Singla said following the persistent demand of parents, the state government has decided to reopen all government, semi-government and private schools from 7 January onwards.  In a statement, Singla said the timings of the schools will be from 10 am to 3 pm and he students only of classes 5 to 12 will be allowed to physically attend their classes.

Singla said while giving his nod, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh directed the department to ensure the safety of the children, amid COVID-19 pandemic. The minister said following the CM’s directions, all school managements have been asked to strictly comply with all anti-Covid precautions in schools.

PTI

Wastewater surveillance can warn of COVID-19 spikes two weeks in advance: IIT Gandhinagar study

Surveillance of untreated wastewater can warn officials about an impending spike or decrease in COVID-19 cases up to two weeks in advance, according to a study conducted by scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar. The researchers, including those from Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC), explored the association between the SARS-CoV-2 genetic load in wastewater and the number of COVID-19 cases at the district level in Gandhinagar, to establish if wastewater surveillance can be an effective tool to warn about the disease early.

“This is the first ever proof based on weekly surveillance in India that unravels this early warning capability of wastewater surveillance for COVID-19,” Professor Manish Kumar from the Department of Earth Sciences, IIT-GN, who led the study, told PTI. “The results are very encouraging and we are planning to share them with the authorities,” said Kumar, adding that it is the need of the hour that officials should take up wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as a policy intervention for COVID-19 mitigation plan.

PTI

Vaccination dry run held at Delhi’s Hinda Rao Hospital, other civic facilitities

Another dry run for the COVID-19  vacination roll-out was held at the Hindu Rao Hospital and a few other civic facilities in Delhi on Wednesday, officials said.North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash said, all guidelines that will be followed when vaccination begins, were followed during the exercise. “In NDMC area, Hindu Rao Hospital and Kasturba Hospital were chosen for the dry run that took place this morning. I inspected the arrangement made at Hindu Rao,” he said.

Prakash said 34 people were given dummy vaccines at the Hindu Rao Hospital.  Official of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation also said, a dry run was scheduled for Wednesday. More details were awaited. Following sites in SDMC areas have been chosen for the exercise — MCW Hari Nagar; Polyclinic Madipur: MCW Bijawasan; MH Sriniwas Puri; MCW Fatehpur Beri; and MCW Defence Colony, officials said.

PTI

Japan to declare COVID-19 emergency in Tokyo from Saturday

Japan will declare a month-long emergency in Tokyo and surrounding areas to tackle a surge in coronavirus cases from Saturday until 7 February, broadcaster Asahi TV reported.

Japan’s capital recorded a record number of daily coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with at least 1,591 new infections.

Gujarat to reopen schools for Classes 10, 12

The Gujarat government has decided to reopen schools for class 10 and 12 students and colleges for final year students from 11 January in the State.

The decision was taken in the state’s cabinet meeting held on Wednesday. 

“Classes for students of 10 and 12 standard will resume from 11 January, following all COVID-19 guidelines,” said Gujarat education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.

However, attendance will be voluntary while online classes will continue till the year end

Gujarat: 11 staffers at secretariat complex test COVID-19 positive

Eleven people working in a complex of the state secretariat premises in Gandhinagar have tested positive for coronavirus in the last four days, officials said on Wednesday.

Gujarat Chief Minister’s Office is located on the fourth floor of the complex, known as ‘Swarnim Sankul-1’, while offices of the deputy chief minister and other cabinet-rank ministers are on the lower floors.

Out of nearly 70 employees of the four-storey complex, who were tested as part of a drive recently conducted by the
Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, 11 were found infected with the coronavirus, the civic body’s health officer, Dr Kalpesh
Goswami, said.

No fresh COVID-19 fatality in Odisha after 6 months

After a gap of over six months, Odisha on Wednesday did not report any fresh fatality due to COVID-19, while 231 new cases pushed the state’s caseload to 3,30,921, a health official said.

As many as 133 new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while 98 infections were detected during contact tracing, he said.

Sundergarh district reported the highest number of new cases at 32, followed by Bargarh (25) and Angul (21), the official said.

Grammy Awards pushed to March due to recent surge in coronavirus cases

The 2021 Grammy Awards will no longer take place this month in Los Angeles and will broadcast in March due to a recent surge in coronavirus cases and deaths.

The annual show would shift from its original 31 January broadcast to 14 March, according to a joint statement released Tuesday from the Recording Academy and CBS, which broadcasts the ceremony. The statement said the decision was reached “after thoughtful conversations with health experts, our host, and artists scheduled to appear.”

“The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, with hospital services being overwhelmed, ICUs having reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have all led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of those in our music community and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly on producing the show,” read the statement from Recording Academy interim CEO Harvey Mason Jr, CBS executive Jack Sussman and Grammys executive producer Ben Winston.

At least 50 teachers test COVID-19 positive in Karnataka, say reports

Just six days after schools and colleges reopened in Karnataka, a number of teachers have tested positive for COVID-19, according to media reports.

On Tuesday, 50 teachers tested positive in different parts of the state, leading to closure of several schools, reported  The Times of India .

In Belagavi district alone, 18 teachers have tested positive for Covid-19. The government had mandated that all teaching and non-teaching staff must undergo a Covid-19 test before educational institutions reopen.

Tokyo daily coronavirus cases exceed 1,500

Tokyo’s had a record 1,591 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, local media reported, as Japan braces for a new state of emergency for the greater metropolitan area.

Rising infections have driven the Tokyo and surrounding areas to the highest level of a four-stage alert, prompting regional governors to urge for a declaration of emergency that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected to announce on Thursday.

Puducherry adds 34 new cases, tally touches 38,334

Puducherry registered 34 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday pushing up the total caseload to 38,334. However, no fresh deaths were reported. As many as 35 patients were discharged during the past 24 hours, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release.

Puducherry region accounted for 22 cases out of the total 34 identified after screening of 3,557 samples followed by Karaikal 8 and Mahe 4. No fresh case was reported from Yanam, he said.

Puducherry adds 34 new cases, tally touches 38,334

Puducherry registered 34 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday pushing up the total caseload to 38,334. However, no fresh deaths were reported. As many as 35 patients were discharged during the past 24 hours, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said in a release.

Puducherry region accounted for 22 cases out of the total 34 identified after screening of 3,557 samples followed by Karaikal 8 and Mahe 4. No fresh case was reported from Yanam, he said.

Vaccine mock drill in 21 Chhattisgarh districts on 7, 8 Jan

A dry run to assess the readiness for the COVID-19 vaccination drive will be held in 21 districts of Chhattisgarh over the next two days, a senior state health official said on Wednesday.

Last week, a similar mock drill was held in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur and six other districts out of the total 28 districts in the State.

Now, it will be held in the remaining 21 districts for the assessment of preparation for the imminent coronavirus vaccination drive, mission director for National Health Mission in Chhattisgarh, Priyanka Shukla, told PTI.

Jharkhand reports 151 new COVID-19 cases, two deaths

Jharkhand’s COVID-19 tally rose to 1,15,840 as 151 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said on Wednesday.

The toll climbed to 1,038 as two more persons succumbed to the novel coronavirus in the last 24-hours, the official said. The two deaths were reported from Ranchi and Hazaribag.

Telangana’s COVID-19 tally past 2.88 lakh

Telangana registered 417 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the total infection count past 2.88 lakh while two more fatalities pushed the toll to 1,556.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 82, followed by Rangareddy and Medchal Malkajgiri with 34 and 32 respectively, a government bulletin said on Wednesday.

Germany extends lockdown till 31 Jan to curb high infection rates

The German government said Tuesday it is extending the country’s lockdown by three weeks until 31 January, tightening curbs on social contacts and planning limits on people’s movements in the worst-affected regions as it tries to reduce stubbornly high infection figures and worrying numbers of coronavirus -related deaths.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said it was “absolutely necessary” to maintain restrictions, particularly in light of a more infectious variant of the virus that emerged in England.

“We must reach a point where we can once again follow the chains of infection,” Merkel said after a lengthy video conference with Germany’s 16 state governors. “Otherwise, we will just go keep going back into a lockdown after a short relaxation.”

Over 17.74 cr COVID-19 samples tested so far: ICMR

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 17,74,63,405 COVID-19 samples have been tested so far with 9,31,408 samples being tested on Tuesday alone.

Active COVID-19 cases in India stands at 2.27 lakh

The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh for the 16th consecutive day. There are 2,27,546 active cases of coronavirus infections in the country which comprise 2.19 percent of the total caseload, the Union health ministry said.