Coronavirus News Updates: Travellers who arrived in Nagaland after 20 Dec to undergo COVID-19 test, says state govt

Tamil Nadu reports 1,005 COVID-19 cases

Tamil Nadu on Monday reported 1,005 new cases of coronavirus and 11 fatalities, pushing the overall infections to 8.15 lakh and total number of deaths to 12,080. As many as 15 contacts of 13 COVID-infected UK returnees have also tested positive for the dreaded virus, the government said, but assured all the 28 people were doing well.

According to a government bulletin, 1,074 people were discharged today after being cured of the virus, pushing the total recoveries to 7,94,228. Subsequently, active cases stood at 8,867.

Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar said the government was monitoring those having returned from the UK, where a new "out of control" variant of the virus has been detected.

While a total of 13 returnees have been infected with the virus, 15 of their contacts have also tested positive for the contagion, he told reporters.

-PTI

SII expects regulatory approval for Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine  in a few days

First 6 months of 2021 to witness COVID vaccine shortage globally, warns Ponnawalla

"All data on Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID19 vaccine submitted in India and UK. The re are no concerns, regulators are closely reviewing documents and data," Serum CEO Adar Poonawalla said on Monday.

40-50 million COVID19 vaccine doses stockpiled, says Serum Institute CEO

Serum Institute of India’s Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla says that the company has 40 to 50 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine, Covishield, stockpiled, reports ANI. “Once we get regulatory approvals in a few days, it’ll be down to the government to decide how much they can take and how fast,” he adds. “We will be producing around 300 million doses by July 2021.”

The Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, has tied up with the University of Oxford and the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca to commercially produce and market this vaccine in India if and when it is approved. On December 8, the company applied for the emergency use authorisation of its vaccine.

COVID-positive Uttarakhand CM admitted to AIIMS

Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who tested positive for COVID-19 recently, was admitted to Delhi's AIIMS on Monday with an infection in his lungs. He was taken to Delhi in a helicopter in the morning on the advice of doctors after a slight infection was found in his lungs, an official said.

Rawat has undergone some important tests at the AIIMS, he added. The chief minister, who was in home isolation since 18 December after testing positive for the infectious disease, was shifted to the Government Doon Medical College after he developed fever on Sunday evening.

Case of new coronavirus strain found in Finland

Finland has become the latest European country to report a case of the more contagious coronavirus variant first identified in Britain, reports news agency AP. Health officials on Monday that a Finnish citizen who had recently arrived from Britain for a Christmas holiday was diagnosed with the new COVID-19 variant in the southeast Kymenlaakso region over the weekend. The person’s recent connections were traced and his family members have been isolated. Finnish health officials said they believed the variant hasn’t spread further.

Nordic neighbors Sweden and Norway reported their first cases of the new COVID-19 variant on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Denmark reported its first such case earlier in December.

Germany's COVID-19 toll tops 30,000

Germany’s confirmed toll in the coronavirus pandemic has topped 30,000 as the country hopes its lockdown will bring down case numbers, reports news agency The Associated Press. The national disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, said on Monday that another 348 deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s total to 30,126. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose by 10,976 to 1.65 million. That increase is much lower than a week ago, but lower testing and reporting over the Christmas period likely accounts for much of the difference.

Coronavirus News LATEST Updates

Uttarakhand CM Taken to AIIMS-Delhi after COVID complications

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who had tested positive for COVID-19 and was hospitalised in Dehradun after developing fever on Sunday, is being taken to AIIMS, Delhi for tests, his physician told PTI. The chief minister's health parameters are normal.

His fever has also gone down since Sunday night. There is slight infection in his lungs, his physician NS Bisht said on Monday.

The chief minister is being taken to AIIMS, Delhi for necessary tests on the advice of doctors there, he said.

Rawat was in home isolation since December 18 after testing positive for COVID-19 and was shifted to the Government Doon Medical College after developing fever on Sunday evening.

His wife and daughter had also tested positive for COVID-19.

Coronavirus News LATEST Updates

11 UK returnees found infected in Mumbai since 25 Nov

A total of 11 out of about 2,200 passengers who returned to Mumbai from the United Kingdom since November 25 have been found coronavirus positive, the civic body officials said on Monday.

Of these 11 passengers, five passengers had arrived last week, while the six others had returned before December 22, Dr Managala Gomare, executive health officer, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), told PTI.

Another official said samples of these 11 passengers have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for genome sequencing to find if they are infected with a new strain of the coronavirus.

"Currently, 187 of the 590 passengers who returned from the UK last week are placed under institutional quarantine at various hotels," Dr Gomare said.

She said the state government had handed over to the civic body two lists of more than 2,000 passengers, who arrived from England between November 25 and 22 December. She said all of them are not yet contacted.

"Our teams are trying to trace all of them. Meanwhile, six of them who reached Mumbai before December 22 have been found positive for coronavirus," said Dr Gomare.

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.

Coronavirus News LATEST Updates

New passenger tracking system introduced at Delhi airport's Terminal 3

Delhi airport's Terminal 3 has installed a new passenger tracking system that would help manage the flow of people, reduce waiting time and ensure social distancing. "The Xovis passenger tracking system (PTS), a queue management system, displays live waiting time, taken at various processes like check-in, security check etc., on screens put up at various places," said a press release by Delhi airport's operator DIAL. Since flight operations are currently less than pre-COVID levels, only Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport are handling aircraft movement.

In this PTS, passengers are counted and tracked anonymously using the ceiling-mounted sensors. The PTS receives data streams from the sensors and provides the airport operator with valuable key performance indicators (KPIs) such as waiting times, process times and passenger throughput.

-PTI

Coronavirus News LATEST Updates

Centre sets up genomic surveillance consortium

In the wake of a mutated variant of coronavirus detected in the UK, a genomic surveillance consortium has been formed for laboratory and epidemiological surveillance of circulating strains of the SARS-CoV-2 in India, reports PTI. The genomic surveillance consortium, INSACOG, has been formed under the leadership of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi.

Further, more than 50 samples of UK returnees are currently under sequencing at the designated laboratories.

Five percent of the positive cases of COVID-19 from all states and UTs will be tested for Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) as part of the strategy that has been put in place to detect and contain the mutant variant, the Union Health Ministry said after a meeting of the National Task Force (NTF) on COVID-19 on the issue.

"It is proposed to continue enhanced genomic surveillance for early detection and containment of the UK variant SARS-CoV-2 strains. However, it is important to understand that like all other RNA viruses, SARS-CoV-2 will continue to mutate," the ministry said.

Coronavirus News LATEST Updates

Delhi HC ensured 'all hands on deck' to curb COVID-19 spread in 2020

COVID-19, which brought the country to a standstill in March, did not deter the Delhi High Court from ensuring that people had access to justice and "all hands were on deck" to curb the spread of the deadly virus as also to provide treatment and basic amenities to those affected by it, reports PTI.

Before the pandemic brought the country to a grinding halt, the high court conducted two unprecedented midnight hearings, one related to north-east Delhi riots and the other to the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case.

Throughout the year, the high court dealt with a number of petitions relating to COVID-19, including pleas to provide adequate PPE kits to health workers, sanitation staff, medical cover to media persons reporting on the pandemic, payment of salaries to teachers, doctors, nurses, safai karamchaaris and retired employees of municipal corporations.

Steps involved in dry run

COVID-19 tally above 2,50,000 in 13 states

According to government data, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have the highest number of total coronavirus cases.
 

Preparations underway for dry run of COVID-19 vaccination

Trivendra Singh Rawat shifted to hospital

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who had tested positive for COVID-19 recently, was shifted to the Government Doon Medical College after developing fever, an official said on Monday.

As he had developed mild fever, he was taken for a check-up on Sunday evening to the GDMC where doctors decided to admit him, the official at the Chief Minister's Office said.         

Rawat is under the observation of a team of doctors, the official said.        

The chief minister had tested positive for COVID-19 on 18 December after which he had isolated himself at home. His wife and daughter had also tested positive.

PTI

Kerala, Maharashtra report most cases

In the past 24 hours, Kerala has reported 4,905 new coronavirus cases, Maharashtra has reported 3,314 new cases and West Bengal has reported 1,435 new cases.

India reports 20,021 cases in past 24 hours

India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,02,07,871 with 20,021 infections being reported in a day, while recoveries have surged to 97.82 lakh, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

The death toll increased to 1,47,901 with 279 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 97,82,669, pushing the national recovery rate to 95.83 percent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 percent.

The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh for the seventh consecutive day.

PTI

Donald Trump signs COVID-19 relief, government-funding measure

US President Donald Trump has signed a USD 900 billion pandemic relief package that will deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals.

It also averts a government shutdown.

Trump announced the signing in a statement on Sunday night.

The massive bill includes USD 1.4 trillion to fund government agencies through September and contains other end-of-session priorities such as money for cash-starved transit systems and an increase in food stamp benefits.

AP

Dry runs of vaccine distribution to begin today

18,732 COVID-19 cases registered in past 24 hours

India registered 18,732 fresh cases of COVID-19, the lowest in nearly six months, while 97,61,538 people have recuperated so far from the disease pushing the national recovery rate to 95.82 percent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.

The death 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.

PTI