LIVE: Home ministry extends guidelines on containing pandemic till January

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,922,048, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 915,345, Andhra Pradesh 881,000, Tamil Nadu 814,000, and Kerala 735,611

Coronavirus live updates: With 20,333 fresh Covid-19 cases, India's caseload now stands at 10,217,777. The country's death toll has mounted to 148,051. With 1,922,048 cases, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 915,345, Andhra Pradesh 881,000, Tamil Nadu 814,000, and Kerala 735,611. The Covid-19 active caseload in the country has dipped to 278,000. However, the pandemic continues to take a toll on activities.

The Centre on Monday maintained the Covid-19 restrictions on various activities, noting that while there has been a continuous decline in active cases in India, there is a need for surveillance, containment and caution due to a surge globally and the emergence of a new variant of the virus in the UK.

World coronavirus update: The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 81,266,024. While 57,414,541 have recovered, 1,774,344 have died so far. The US, the worst-hit country, has 19,567,784 cases, and 341,138 have died from the disease there. It is followed by India, which has 10,208,725 cases, Brazil (7,484,285), Russia (3,050,248), France (2,559,686).

Stay tuned for the latest coronavirus-related news.

11:59 PM

Prohibitory orders in Bengaluru from Dec 31 to Jan 1

Prohibitory orders will be force in Bengaluru from December 31 to January 1 2021, along with certain restrictions, in view of the prevailing Covid-19 situation and the emergence of a new strain of virus from abroad, the city police commissioner said on Monday. The order will be in force from 6 PM on December 31 to 6 AM on January 1, Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said.

It will be within the limits of Bengaluru City Commissionerate, he said. The order said no New Year celebrations of any type, involving a large gathering, should be held in open places and park grounds and public roads. However, in-house celebrations in residential complexes and private clubs may be held for residents and members without organising any special events.

11:41 PM

Maha govt issues Covid-19 protocols for tourism sector

The Maharashtra government on Monday issued Covid-19 protocols on safety, hygiene, booking and accommodation for the tourism sector. The SoP lays down that people above the age of 65, those with co-morbidities, pregnant women, children below the age of ten should stay home and venture out only for essential and health visits.

The management should communicate these guidelines to the visitors through promotional material and social media platforms, it said, adding that self declaration form will be mandatory for accommodation units. "Tourists should strictly observe social distancing , family groups can stay together as long as they are six feet away from other individuals. Only asymptomatic tourists should venture outand those having even mild symptoms are advised to remain in isolation," it said.

11:38 PM

Bengal reports 1,028 new Covid-19 cases, 27 fresh fatalities

West Bengal's Covid-19 tally rose to 5,48,471 as 1,028 more people tested positive for the infection, while 27 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 9,625, a health bulletin said. As many as 1,614 more people have been cured of the disease, taking the recovery rate among the coronavirus patients in the state to 95.85 per cent, it said.

North 24 Parganas district reported the highest number of new cases at 268, followed by Kolkata (200) and Howrah (71), the bulletin said. North 24 Parganas also reported the highest number of fresh fatalities at seven, followed by four each in Kolkata and South 24 Parganas, it said. Twenty fresh fatalities were caused due to comorbidities where COVID-19 was incidental. The state now has 13,161 active cases, while 5,25,685 people have been cured of the disease so far, the bulletin said.

11:35 PM

Punjab reports 269 new Covid-19 cases, 450 discharges

10:51 PM

Gautam Buddh Nagar records 27 new Covid-19 cases, tally 24,845

Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded 27 new Covid-19 cases on Monday that pushed the district's infection tally to 24,845, official data showed. Active cases in the district came down to 462 from 477 the previous day, as the recovery rate rose to 97.78 per cent, according to the data released by the UP Health Department for a 24-hour period. The number of active cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar is the seventh highest in the state.

On the brighter side, 42 more patients got discharged during the period, taking the overall recoveries to 24,294, the fifth highest in the state. The death toll in Gautam Buddh Nagar has reached 89 and the mortality rate is 0.35 per cent. The recovery rate of patients reached 97.78 per cent, the statistics showed.

10:31 PM

One more UK returnee tests positive in Telangana

One more person who arrived here from the UK has been found positive, taking the total number of UK-returnees who tested positive for the coronavirus infection to 21 since December 9. Observing that the Telangana health department is alert in the wake of new strain of coronavirus surfacing, state Director of Public Health G Srinivasa Rao said government is following a policy of tracing, testing and treating to prevent the spread of the virus, according to an official release on Monday.

Meanwhile, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said people should take all precautions instead of panicking over the new strain of COVID-19 which was found to be spreading fast abroad.

Soundararajan, a medical doctor, advised people to be extra cautious and follow all precautionary measures like maintaining physical distancing, washing hands and wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of new strain of the coronavirus, a Raj Bhavan press commmunique said.

10:15 PM

Nashik's Covid-19 tally rises by 216, toll by 5; 497 recover

The count of Covid-19 cases in Nashik district of Maharashtra rose to 1,09,335 after 216 people were detected with the infection on Monday, an official said. Five deaths took the toll to 1,955, while 497 people getting discharged from hospitals took the recovery count to 1,05,314, he added. With 1,857 samples being tested on Monday, the overall number of tests conducted in the district rose to 4,25,010.

9:57 PM

Home Secy writes to State chief secys for active support in vaccination process

9:49 PM

Covid vaccine dry run held in Gandhinagar

9:47 PM

Haryana records 351 new cases, 571 recoveries

8:39 PM

Already produced 40-50 million dosages of Covishield vaccine: Serum Institute

Serum Institute of India has already produced around 50 million dosages of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield' and plans to scale it up to 100 million by March next year even as it awaits approval for emergency use authorisation, a top company official said on Monday.

 

The company, which has launched the country's first indigenously developedpneumococcal vaccinePNEUMOSIL- for children, said the scaling up of the COVID-19 vaccine would also depend on the overall demand from the government.

 

In order to introduce an urgently needed vaccine against COVID-19 in India, Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, has entered into acollaboration with the University of Oxford and AstraZenecato manufacture Covishield. The Pune-based company has applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking emergency use authorisation for COVID-19 vaccine in the country.

8:02 PM

Maharashtra reports 2,498 new Covid-19 cases, 4,501 discharges and 50 deaths today

7:43 PM

PLUSS to supply temperature control boxes to SpiceJet for Covid-19 vaccine transportation

Delhi-based material solutions firm Pluss Advanced Technologies (PLUSS) on Monday announced a tie up with SpiceJet for supplying precise temperature control boxes to the dedicated freighter division of the budget carrier for COVID-19 vaccine transportation.

 

As part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two partners, PLUSS will supply its patented product, Celsure, for transportation of COVID-19 vaccines from the manufacturer to different parts of the country, a release said. The indigenously developed precise temperature control boxes, required for maintaining the effectiveness of the vaccine during transport, will be co-branded especially for SpiceJet's cargo division Spice Xpress and will be made available at various locations across the country, PLUSS said in the release.

 

"At PLUSS, we have been continuously working towards playing our role in getting India ready to effectively combat the COVID-19 pandemic, once the vaccine is approved for use," the company's MD Samit Jain said.

7:38 PM

Tamil Nadu reports 1,005 new coronavirus cases, 1,074 discharges, and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours

Tamil Nadu reported 1,005 new coronavirus cases, 1,074 discharges, and 11 deaths in the last 24 hours: State Health Department, Govt of Tamil Nadu

7:17 PM

Containment zones to continue to be demarcated carefully: Ministry of Home Affairs