Coronavirus News Updates: COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh cross 8.81 lakh; vaccine distribution dry run in Krishna district tomorrow

AstraZeneca vaccine should be effective against new strain, says chief executive

The coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca should be effective against the highly transmissible new strain of the virus, a UK media report said on Sunday. The Oxford vaccine, which also has a tie-up with the Serum Institute of India, is expected to win approval in the UK before Thursday, speeding up the provision of the jab to the most vulnerable groups. Approval for the AstraZeneca vaccine would mean we are well on course to do that by the spring, a senior government official was quoted as saying by The Sunday Times. The source warned that the new strain of COVID-19 had overtaken the old and was running rampant in the UK. The latest figures are not good, but the guidance is the MHRA [the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency] will give the Oxford vaccine the go-ahead by midweek, the source said.

AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said that new data will show the vaccine is as effective as the Pfizer and Moderna jabs that have already been approved, protecting 95 percent of patients, and is 100 percent effective in preventing severe illness requiring hospital treatment. He said that it “should be” effective against the new highly transmissible variant of the deadly virus, which put England under complete lockdown again after its rapid spread was detected.

PTI

Vaccine dry run to be held in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district tomorrow

 A dry run of the coronavirus vaccination programme will be held in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh on Monday.Andhra Pradesh is one of the four states chosen by the Centre to carry out end-to-end dry run for COVID-19vaccination on 28 December.  The state government picked up Krishna district for the
dry run, where it will be carried out in five locations, according to Health Commissioner Katamaneni Bhaskar.

“The dry run is aimed at testing the planned operations and the laid out mechanisms for COVID-19 vaccination in the state. It will provide insights into any gaps or bottlenecks so that those could be addressed before the commencement of the actual drive,” Bhaskar said on the eve of the programme. It would be used to test the preparedness for vaccinating pre-identified beneficiaries from specified groups supported by Co-WIN, an electronic application.

PTI

RT-PCR tests for international arrivals on seventh day after arrival: BMC

In view of the emergence of a new coronavirus variant in the UK, the Mumbai civic body on Sunday issued revised guidelines to ensure the compulsory quarantine for 14 days for all passengers arriving from the UK, Europe, and West Asia. As per the amended Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), travellers will be kept under institutional quarantine after arrival and RT-PCR test will be conducted on the seventh day from the arrival at the respective hotels, institutional facilities at their own coast.

“If the report of the test is found negative, the passenger would be discharged from the institutional quarantine after seven days with the advice of seven days mandatory home quarantine. A total of 14 days quarantine is to be ensured,” the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a release.

PTI

Uttar Pradesh records 959 new cases, 13 deaths

With 13 more people succumbing to coronavirus infection in Uttar Pradesh, the COVID-19 toll rose to 8,306 on Sunday in the state.The number of total cases touched 5,81,980 with 959 more people found positive for the infection, an Uttar Pradesh government statement said. Of the 13 COVID-19 deaths, three were reported from Lucknow and two from Varanasi.   Of the 959 fresh cases, 199 were reported from Lucknow.
 

In the past 24 hours, 1,391 COVID-19 patients recovered from the viral disease and were discharged, the statement added. So far, 5,58,303 Covid-19 patents have been cured and discharged in the state, with the number of active Covid-19 cases standing at 15,371 in the state, the statement said.  In the last 24 hours, over 1.42 lakh samples were tested for Covid-19, taking the total number of tests in the state to 2.33 crore, it said.

PTI

61 secretariat staff, five MLAs test COVID-19 positive on eve of  MP Assembly  session

On the eve of the three-day session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, 61 employees and officials of the Assembly Secretariat and five MLAs have tested coronavirus positive,said  Protem Speaker Rameshwar Sharma. “As many as 61 employees and officials of the state Assembly secretariat have tested coronavirus positive so far. Besides, five MLAs were also found infected as per the reports received till now,” he said, after taking stock of the preparation for the session that begins from Monday. “So far, the test reports of 20 MLAs have been received. The reports of several other legislators are still awaited,” he said,adding that the reports of more employees and officials are also yet to come."

Israel enters third lockdown

Israel was set on Sunday to begin its third coronavirus lockdown, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced optimism that a “world record” vaccination drive will restore a degree of normality within weeks. After a sharp rebound in detected infections, Netanyahu’s government announced three days ago that it would re-impose the strict measures that had previously helped limit transmission.  

From 5 pm on Sunday, most people will be forced to stay within 1,000 metres of their home. There are a range of exceptions, including seeking medical care, attending legal proceedings or exercising.  A key difference in Israel’s third lockdown compared to previous versions relates to schools, with more students able to attend classes.  

AFP

Low turnout at Sani Peyarchi festival in Puducherry

 A low key turnout due to strict COVID-19 restrictions, was witnessed at the famous shrine of Lord Saturn in Tirunallar in the Union Territory of Puducherry
on Sunday on the occasion of ‘Sani Peyarchi’ festival, reports news agency PTI. Devotees entering the temple were scanned with thermometers. They were not allowed to take a holy dip in the temple tank. The bells of Lord Saneeswara Temple here rang at 5:22 am amidst ‘Maha Deeparadhanai’ and special prayers marking the transit of Lord Saturn.
 
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Ministers R Kamalakannan and Kandasamy and Madras High Court Judge Velmurugan were among those who participated in the event.   Earlier on Saturday, the government had made the COVID-19 negative certificate mandatory for devotees.

Global coronavirus count crosses 80 million: report

More than 80 million confirmed cases of coronavirus have been detected worldwide since the pandemic began a year ago and 1.76 million deaths have been registered so far, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. In total, 80,145,185 cases and 1,756,060 deaths have been recorded. Last week, an average of 5.80,000 new cases were registered every day. Europe is the world’s hardest-hit region, passing the 25-million-case mark on Friday and with 5,46,000 deaths.

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has ‘winning formula’, claims company’s chief executive

The COVID-19 vaccine developed by the British drug manufacturer AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has achieved a “winning formula” for efficacy, the company’s chief executive said on Sunday. The vaccine, which is currently being evaluated by Britain’s independent medicines regulator, provides “100 percent protection” against severe COVID-19 requiring hospitalisation, Pascal Soriot said in an interview with th_e Sunday Times_ newspaper. He added he believes trials will show his firm has achieved a vaccine efficacy equal to Pfizer-BioNTech at 95 percent and Moderna at 94.5 percent.

AFP

Ladakh registers 39 fresh cases

Thirty-nine more people tested positive for the coronavirus in Ladakh, taking the infection count in the Union Territory to 9,394,  reports PTI quoting officials. Ladakh has so far recorded 126 COVID-related deaths — 83 in Leh and 43 in Kargil — while 9,050 patients or 96 percent of the total cases have recovered from the infection in the UT.

The officials said 31 of the fresh cases were detected in Leh and eight others in Kargil during the past 24 hours. Thirty-one patients were discharged after successful treatment in Leh during the same period, they said. According to the officials, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Ladakh stands at 218 — 192 in Leh and 26 in Kargil.

Oman starts vaccination drive

The Persian Gulf state of Oman has launched its COVID-19 inoculation campaign, with the sultanate’s health minister receiving the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, reports news agency The Associated Press. State-run media reported that the first batch of 15,600 doses was flown in industrial freezers to Muscat International Airport last week to vaccinate a priority group of older adults, health care workers and those with underlying health conditions starting on Sunday. Another 28,000 doses of the vaccine by American drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are expected to arrive next month.

303 more test positive in Odisha

Odisha’s COVID-19 tally on Sunday mounted to 3,28,504 after 303 more people tested positive for the infection, while four more fatalities pushed the toll to 1,861, reports news agency PTI quoting a senior health department official . Of the 303 cases, 172 were reported from various quarantine centres, and 131 detected during contact tracing. Taking to Twitter, the health and family welfare department said, “Regret to inform about the demise of four Covid positive patients while under treatment in hospitals.” One fatality each was registered in Khurda, Kalahandi, Nuapada and Sundergarh, the official said.

Odisha currently has 2,841 active cases, while as many as 3,23,749 people have recovered from the infectious disease. Fifty-three patients died due to comorbidities.

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Over 750 volunteers get Covaxin 1st dose in phase-3 trial

Over 750 volunteers have been administered the first dose of Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’ as part of its phase-3 trials at a city hospital, and none of them have experienced any side effects so far, a senior doctor said on Sunday.Bharat Biotech is developing Covaxin in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV).The phase-III trials of the vaccine are being conducted at Sola Civil Hospital here.“Over 750 volunteers, including around 50 health workers like doctors, nursing staff, para-medics, have been administered the first dose of Covaxinsince its phase-3 trial began on November 25. None of the volunteers have experienced any kind of side effects so far,” Dr Kiran Rami, head of the hospital’s TB and chest department, told PTI.

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Ship captain tests COVID-19 positive after return from London, under isolation in Bareilly

A Merchant Navy captain, who returned from the US and the UK recently, has been put under isolation here after testing positive for COVID-19, officials said on Sunday.

Bareilly Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Vineet Shukla said the sample of the ship captain has been sent to CSIR laboratory in Delhi for testing for new COVID-19 strain B-117.

“Of the 18 people who have been traced to Bareilly after returning from abroad, only the ship captain tested positive,” he said.

The CMO said the 23-year-old captain, a resident of Civil Lines in Bareilly, had gone to the US in November, and while returning from there, his ship docked in London for nearly three hours.

After returning to India, the captain was found negative in an antigen test. He stayed in quarantine in Delhi for seven days, Shukla said.

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Dance historian Sunil Kothari passes away, had tested positive for COVID-19 a month ago

Padma Shri dance historian and critic Sunil Kothari passed away Sunday morning at a Delhi hospital after he suffered a cardiac arrest a month after testing positive for coronavirus. He was 87. “He had tested positive for COVID-19 almost a month back and was not in a good condition,” Vidha Lal, a family friend and herself a dancer, told PTI. Kothari was recovering at home in Asian Games Village but was rushed to a hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest this morning, she added. Born on December 20, 1933 in Mumbai, Kothari qualified as a Chartered Accountant before turning to the study of Indian dance forms.

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COVID-19 active caseload slips to 2.78 lakh after 170 days: Health ministry

The COVID-19 active caseload in the country dipped to 2.78 lakh on Sunday, the lowest after 170 days, the Union Health Ministry said. In a statement, the ministry said the country has reported a trend of sustained decrease in the number of active cases.

“India’s present active caseload consists of just 2.74 percent of India’s total positive cases,” it said.

The total recovered cases stand at 97,61,538. The gap between recovered and active cases, which is steadily increasing, is nearing 95 lakh and presently stands at 94,82,848, the ministry said.

“The difference in the new recoveries outnumbering new cases has also improved the recovery rate to 95.82 percent. The ministry said the daily new caseload dropped below 19,000 after 6 months. A total of 18,732 were added to the national tally in the last 24 hours.

-PTI

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Battling COVID-19, ex-Himachal Pradesh CM  says PM called to enquire about health

Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar, who was hospitalised after he tested positive for COVID-19, on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him to enquire about his health.

In a Facebook post, the 86-year-old leader also thanked Modi for the gesture. Kumar was admitted to Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC) at Tanda in Kangra district on Saturday, a day after he tested positive for COVID-19.

His wife Santosh is also admitted to the hospital as she had also tested positive for coronavirus. Kumar’s four other family members, his personal secretary, security officer and driver had also tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.

In his Facebook post in Hindi, Kumar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him to enquire about his and his family members’ health.

The former CM said he felt very good that the prime minister sought information regarding their treatment. He said he told Modi that the Himachal Pradesh government is taking full care of them in every way. Kumar said Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur also enquired about his health this morning.

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European Union nations kick off mass COVID-19 vaccinations

European Union nations officially kicked off a coordinated effort Sunday to give COVID-19 vaccinations to some of the most vulnerable among their nearly 450 million people, marking a moment of hope in the continent’s battle against the worst public health crisis in a century, reports AP.

Shots were administered Sunday morning to health care workers, the elderly and some leading politicians to reassure the public that the vaccinations are safe.

In Prague, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis received his shot at dawn and asserted: “There’s nothing to worry about.” In Rome, five doctors and nurses wearing white scrubs sat in a semi-circle at Rome’s Spallanzani infectious diseases hospital to receive their doses.

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Banks brace for pandemic-hit corporates’ bad loan woes, muted credit growth

Tackling non-performing assets will be a major challenge for the banking sector in the new year as many companies, especially in the MSME sector, may not be able to withstand the heat of the coronavirus pandemic which led to a historic contraction of the economy in the first half of the current fiscal.

Besides, muted private investment impacting the corporate loan growth will be another challenge that banks will have to face in the coming months. Despite ample liquidity in the system, demand from the corporate sector is very low and bankers hope that faster than anticipated recovery could bring in the animal spirit as far as India Inc in concerned.

Although the Indian economy witnessed a sharp recovery from 23.9 percent contraction in the first quarter to 7.5 percent contraction in the second quarter, it is yet to lift the sentiment of India Inc. For the past few years, private investment has been low while public spending has been doing the heavy lifting for the economy.

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Hyderabad set to emerge as global hub for COVID-19 vaccine in 2021

As the world is set to brace for a new year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the city is poised to emerge as a ‘saviour’ from the killer virus, with as many as five vaccine manufacturing firms based here racing to bring out an antidote.

The vaccine development process by Bharat Biotech, Biological E Ltd, and Aurobindo Pharma are currently in various stages, while Dr Reddy’s and Hetero have tie-ups for manufacturing the vaccine. Some of these companies have also drawn up plans to scale up their vaccine manufacturing capacities.

Besides vaccine makers, the International Airport here has also stepped up the cold-chain infrastructure for vaccine transportation.

GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC) is in talks with various stakeholders towards meeting specific requirements of export and import of COVID-19 vaccines.

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Arunachal Pradesh reports 9 new COVID-19 cases

Nine more persons, including a policeman, tested positive for COVID-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, pushing the tally to 16,687, an official said on Sunday. Of the fresh cases, four were reported from East Siang, two each from West Kameng and Tawang and one from Changlang district, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.Barring two, all the new patients were asymptomatic, he said. Twenty-three more patients recovered from COVID-19, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 16,477.The SSO said the COVID-19 recovery rate of Arunachal Pradesh at present is 98.74 percent.

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Two more UK-returned persons test positive for COVID-19 in Delhi

Two more persons who recently returned to Delhi from the UK, where a super-spreader strain of the coronavirus has been reported, were found to be COVID positive during a door-to-door contact-tracing and testing exercise, officials said on Saturday.

With this, the number of people testing positive for the disease after returning from the UK has gone up to 21 in the national capital. All of them returned from the UK after 25 November.

The two persons, residents of the city, had returned from the United Kingdom (UK) between 25 November and 21 December and had tested negative in the RTPCR test conducted at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, a senior Delhi government officer said.

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Thane district’s COVID-19 count rises by 331, toll up by 7

With the addition of 331 coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 2,41,473, an official said on Sunday. These new cases were reported on Saturday, he said.

As the virus claimed the lives of seven persons, the toll in the district rose to 5,924. The mortality rate is 2.45 percent, he added. So far, 2,31,356 patients have recuperated from the infection, which took the recovery rate to 95.81 percent.

There are 4,193 active cases in the district at present, the official said.

In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 44,105, while the death toll is 1,181, he said.

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Demand  institutional quarantine of UK returnees in Goa, says MLA

In view of a new strain of coronavirus found in the United Kingdom, an MLA in Goa on Sunday demanded institutional quarantine of those who have tested positive for the infection on their return to the state from the UK.

“COVID amongst UK returnees is of serious concern. Institutional Quarantine should be mandatory to ward off the threat of new virus strain,” Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte tweeted.

He said that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane should personally monitor the situation.

The health authorities in Goa have been conducting tests on more than 900 people, who returned to the state after 9 December.

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Maharashtra: 16 UK returnees test positive for virus

Sixteen persons who had recently returned from the UK and two family members of such returnees have tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra so far, a health official said. “Their samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune to find out if they are carrying the new strain of the virus that was detected in the UK,” he said. Screening of passengers arrived from the UK began after a new variant of the coronavirus was detected in that country. Flights from the UK were barred earlier this week, reports PTI

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18,732 new cases take India’s COVID-19 tally to 1,01,87,850

India’s COVID-19 tally of cases climbed to 1,01,87,850 with 18,732 new cases in a day, while 97,61,538 people have recuperated so far pushing the national recovery rate to 95.82 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday. This is the lowest daily count in nearly six months, according to NDTV .

The toll climbed to 1,47,622 with the novel coronavirus virus claiming 279 lives in a span of 24 hours in the country, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The COVID-19 case fatality rate was registered at 1.44 percent.

There are 2,78,690 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 2.73 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 16,81,02,657 samples have been tested up to December 26 with 9,43,368 samples being tested on Saturday.

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Japan sharply tightens ban on foreign visitors

Japan’s government will temporarily ban entry of all nonresident foreign nationals as a precaution against a new and potentially more contagious coronavirus variant that has spread across Britain, reports AP.

The entry ban will start Monday and last through 31 January for the time being, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Saturday.

Japan banned entry of nonresident foreigners from Britain and South Africa last week, but is further stepping up border control after confirming the new variant in seven people over the last two days — five returnees from Britain who tested at airports and two others in Tokyo.

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History tells us this won’t be last pandemic, says WHO chief

The coronavirus crisis will not be the last pandemic, and attempts to improve human health is “doomed” without tackling climate change and animal welfare, the World Health Organization’s chief said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also condemned the “dangerously short-sighted” cycle of throwing cash at outbreaks but doing nothing to prepare for the next one, in a video message marking Sunday’s first International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.

The WHO director-general said it was time to learn the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Sweden, Canada and Spain report first cases of news COVID-19 strain

Sweden, Canada and Spain on Saturday became the latest countries to report cases of the more contagious and genetically distinct variant of the coronavirus that was first discovered in Britain. The variant has also been detected in France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy, according to The Washington Post.