Coronavirus LIVE: 4,969 new Covid-19 cases, 27 deaths in Kerala in a day

Coronavirus live updates: India reported 24,010 fresh Covid-19 cases on Thursday pushing the overall tally to 9,961,997, according to Health Ministry. The death toll from the deadly infection jumped to 144,635. 

The government is making all efforts to support and promote the development of vaccines for Covid-19, but there is a need to strengthen cold chain logistics and remove vaccine hesitancy, experts voiced on Wednesday. "There are six vaccine candidates in various stages of clinical trials in India, out of which four are developed indigenously," Department of Biotechnology Scientist and Adviser Asha Sharma said.

World coronavirus updates: The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 74,730,282. While 52,542,581 have recovered, 1,658,942 have lost their lives. Meanwhile, the US continues to be the worst-hit country with 17,403,423 cases.

Stay tuned for the latest coronavirus-related news

1:53 AM

France's coronavirus epidemic trend raises concern, says official

Jerome Salomon, the French director for public health, said the evolution of the coronavirus outbreak in his country was concerning, after incidence almost doubled since last week.

 

"In France, the evolution of the epidemic is concerning. There is a tendency toward increased circulation of the virus," he told reporters at a weekly press conference.

 

France recorded 18,254 new cases in the previous 24-hour period, up from a daily 10,000 seen last week. The French government hopes to contain the spread of the virus at 5,000 new cases a day.

1:20 AM

Assam sees 106 new cases

12:50 AM

Nagaland reports 33 fresh Covid cases

The detection of 33 fresh cases of coronavirus infection raised Nagaland's tally to 11,820 on Thursday, health department officials said.

 

In a tweet, Health and Family Welfare Minister S Pangnyu Phom said, "33 +ve cases of # COVID-19 have been detected today. Kohima- Mokokchung- 13 each, Tuensang- 6, Mon- 1. Also, 76 +ve patients have recovered. Kohima- 64, Tuensang- 6, Wokha- 4, Zunheboto- 2."

 

The caseload includes 11,071 recovered people while 547 are active patients, he said.

11:36 PM

Jharkhand coronavirus update

10:20 PM

1,584 new coronavirus cases in Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh's Covid-19 case count rose to 2,63,485 on Thursday as 1,584 new cases of infection came to light, a health official said.

 

With 11 more fatalities, the death toll due to the pandemic in the state reached 3,156, he said.

9:16 PM

Maharashtra coronavirus update

Maharashtra's Covid-19 tally rose to 18,84,773 on Thursday with the addition of 3,880 fresh cases, while more than 4,350 patients recovered from the infection, said a state health department official.

 

The state also reported 65 more deaths, taking the fatality count to 48,499, he said.

 

A total of 4,358 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, pushing the tally of recovered people to 17,74,255, the official said.

 

With this, the number of patients currently under treatment stood at 60,905, he said.

9:02 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Punjab records 449 fresh Covid-19 cases, 15 more deaths

Punjab's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 1,61,831 on Thursday with 449 fresh infections and the death toll climbed to 5,150 as 15 more people succumbed to the disease, according to a medical bulletin. Of the latest fatalities, three each were reported from Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar, two each from Gurdaspur, Kapurthala and Patiala, and one each from Ludhiana, Mohali and Sangrur, the bulletin said.

 

There are 6,045 active COVID-19 cases in the state, it said. Of the 449 fresh cases, 106 were reported from Mohali, 62 from Jalandhar and 52 from Ludhiana, among other districts.

 

A total of 629 coronavirus patients were discharged after recovering from the infection, taking the number of cured persons to 1,50,636, the bulletin said. Fifteen critical patients are on ventilator support, while 116 are on oxygen support, it said. So far, 36,09,574 samples have been collected for testing in the state, it said.

8:49 PM

Haryana reports 17 more coronavirus deaths, 714 fresh cases

Haryana on Thursday reported 17 more coronavirus deaths, taking the death toll to 2,782, even as 714 fresh cases pushed the state's infection tally to 2,55,728. According to the state health department's daily bulletin, the fatalities include four each from Faridabad and Panipat and three from Yamunanagar district.

 

Among the districts which reported a big spike in cases include Gurgaon (108) and Faridabad (165). The state's active cases stand at 7,013, while the recovery rate is 96.17 per cent.

8:23 PM

Health ministry, Niti Aayog officials likely to meet EC top brass over Covid-19 vaccine distribution

Officials of the Union health ministry and the Niti Aayog are likely to meet the Election Commission top brass in the coming days to seek their help in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine given the poll panel's robust network at the booth level, sources aware of the development said on Thursday. They said the officials have sought a meeting with the EC top brass to understand the process at the grass-roots level.

 

During the planned meeting, the health ministry and Niti Aayog could seek EC's help in distributing the vaccine to the right person and the poll panel's experience in managing voters at the booth level during massive electoral exercises could come in handy. By successfully holding the Bihar assembly polls recently amid the coronavirus pandemic, the EC has proved the robustness of its system, the sources pointed out.

 

According to guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination drive, the latest electoral roll for Lok Sabha and assembly elections will be used to identify the priority population over the age of 50 years. Twelve identity documents, such as Voter ID, Aadhar card, driving licence, passport and pension document, will be required for beneficiary identification.

7:55 PM

4,969 new Covid-19 positive cases, 4,970 recoveries, 27 deaths in Kerala today

Kerala's COVID-19 tally climbed to 6.88 lakh and the toll to 2,734 with the addition of 4,969 new cases and 27 deaths, including that of a centenarian. As many as 4,970 people joined the list of cured, taking the cumulative recoveries to 6,27,364, Health Minister K K Shailaja said. A total of 58,155 people were presently undergoing treatment for the disease, the minister said in a release. The overall infection count in the state has touched 6,88,409.

 

A 100-year old man from Kollam was among the latest fatalities, she said.

 

In the last 24 hours, a sum of 60,851 samples were sent for testing and the test positivity rate was 8.17 per cent. So far, 71,79,051 samples have been sent for testing. Of the positive cases, as many as 47 are health care workers, 99 had come from outside the state and 4,282 infected through contact. At least 2,96,747 people were under observation in various districts with 13,358 of them in hospitals, the release added.

7:36 PM

Goa records 88 new coronavirus cases, 89 recoveries; three more deaths

Goa's coronavirus caseload went up by 88 to reach 49,745 on Thursday, a health department official said. The death toll rose to 716 after three more patients succumbed to the infection during the day, he said. The tally of recovered patients in the state increased to 48,054 as 89 persons were discharged from hospitals, the official said.

 

The number of active cases stood at 975, the official said.

 

"A total of 1665 samples were tested during the day," he added. Goa's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 49,745, new cases 88, deaths 716, discharged 48,054, active cases 975, people tested so far 3,77,343.

6:59 PM

4,969 new Covid-19 positive cases, 4,970 recoveries, 27 deaths in Kerala today

4,969 new Covid-19 positive cases, 4,970 recoveries, 27 deaths in Kerala today

6:44 PM

US Vice President Mike Pence to take Covid-19 vaccine publicly

US Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence will publicly receive a Covid-19 vaccine on Friday to promote the safety and efficacy of the vaccine and build confidence among the American people. They will be joined by US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who will also receive the vaccine, the White House said on Wednesday.

 

US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday said that Dr Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser, asked him to get vaccinated against Covid-19 "sooner than later."

 

Biden told reporters that he would get it "by the numbers" and that he would get it done "publicly," the USA Today reported. The US FDA gave the emergency use authorisation for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine last week.

6:32 PM

Delhi reports 1,363 new Covid-19 cases, 2,391 recoveries and 35 deaths in last 24 hours

Delhi reports 1,363 new Covid-19 cases, 2,391 recoveries and 35 deaths in last 24 hours

6:00 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: French President Macron tests positive for Covid-19

French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Elysee Palace confirmed in a statement on Thursday, joining a long list of world leaders to be infected with the disease. The statement said that the 42-year-old President was diagnosed "following a PCR test performed at the onset of the first symptoms", reports CNN.

 

"In accordance with current health regulations applicable to all, the President of the Republic will isolate himself for seven days. "He continues to work and carry out his activities remotely," it added.

 

It is yet to confirmed how Macron caught the virus, but his office said it was identifying those he had been in close contact, reports the BBC. One of the worst-hit European nations, France has so far reported a total of 2,465,126 coronavirus cases and 59,472 deaths since the onset of the pandemic earlier this year.