Coronavirus LIVE: 6,185 new Covid-19 cases in Kerala in past 24 hours

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,886,807, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 903,425, Andhra Pradesh 876,336, Tamil Nadu 801,161, and Kerala 677,255

Coronavirus live updates: India has reported 26,401 fresh Covid-19 cases. With this, its case tally now stands at 9,933,997. The country's death toll has mounted to 144,144. With 1,886,807 cases, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 903,425, Andhra Pradesh 876,336, Tamil Nadu 801,161, and Kerala 677,255. At 1.9 per cent, Delhi reported the lowest incidence of new Covid-19 cases recorded so far, with its test positivity rate on 85,105 samples tested in the last 24 hours. It reported 1,617 positive cases.

Covid-19 cases and deaths were declining in India which was very reassuring, the Centre said on Tuesday but cautioned against any laxity saying an overwhelming proportion of the country's population was still "very very susceptible" to the virus and the situation might escalate unexpectedly.

World coronavirus update: The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 74,001,936. While 51,978,746 have recovered, 1,645,672 have died so far. The US, the worst-hit country, has 17,118,847 cases, and 310,648 have died from the disease there. It is followed by India, which has 9,932,908 cases, Brazil (6,974,258), Russia (2,707,945), France (2,391,447).

Stay tuned for the latest coronavirus-related news.

1:49 AM

Vaccinations reach nursing homes, as California faces crisis

The first Covid-19 vaccinations are underway at US nursing homes, where the virus has killed upwards of 110,000 people, even as the nation struggles to contain a surge so alarming that California is dispensing thousands of body bags and lining up refrigerated morgue trailers.

 

With the rollout of shots picking up speed Wednesday, lawmakers in Washington closed in on a long-stalled coronavirus relief package that would send direct payments of perhaps $600 to most Americans.

 

Meanwhile, the US appeared to be days away from adding a second vaccine to its arsenal.

 

At the same time, a major snowstorm pushing its way into the Northeast raised fears it could disrupt distribution of the first vaccine.

 

Nursing home residents in Florida began receiving shots Wednesday, after nearly 2,000 such vaccinations were administered in West Virginia on Tuesday.

12:39 AM

France to get 1.16 million Covid vaccine doses by year end, says Prime Minister

11:31 PM

Jharkhand coronavirus update

Jharkhand reported 190 new coronavirus cases, 180 recoveries and 3 deaths in last 24 hours

10:33 PM

Chhattisgarh sees 1,661 new cases

1,661 new coronavirus cases reported in Chhattisgarh in last 24 hours. With these additions, tally reached 262,000. Active cases stand at 17,468, while toll rose to 3,145, according to the state health department

10:18 PM

Mumbai reports 795 new Covid-19 cases; 12 deaths

The tally of Covid-19 cases in Mumbai went up to 284,404 with the addition of 795 new cases on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

 

With 12 more patients succumbing to the Covid-19 disease in the last 24 hours, the death toll rose to 11,007, it said.

 

A day before, Mumbai had recorded 521 new cases and seven fatalities.

10:16 PM

Boris Johnson resists calls for more curbs

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday resisted calls to tighten coronavirus restrictions over Christmas, as London faced stricter measures and concern mounted about rising infections

9:36 PM

Tamil Nadu reports 1,181 new Covid cases

Tamil Nadu on Wednesday reported 1,181 new Covid-19 cases taking the tally to 8,02,342 and the death toll touched 11,931 with 12 more fatalities.

 

The active cases stood at 9,880 with 1,240 patients getting discharged from various hospitals and cumulatively 7,80,531 people have got cured till date.

8:34 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Goa sees 91 fresh Covid-19 cases, 104 recoveries

Goa on Wednesday reported 91 new COVID-19 cases, taking the count of infections to 49,657, a health department official said. With three more patients succumbing to the infection, the overall toll reached 713 in the state, he said.

 

A total of 104 people were discharged during the day, taking the tally of recoveries to 47,965, the official said. The state has 979 active cases. A total of 1,758 samples were tested during the day, he added. Goa's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 49,657, new cases 91, death toll 713, discharged 47,965, active cases 979, samples tested till date 3,75,678.

8:08 PM

6,185 new Covid-19 cases and 5,728 recoveries reported in Kerala today

7:37 PM

Covid patients at higher risk of death than those with flu: Study

While many earlier reports stressed that seasonal flu is more dangerous than Covid-19, a new study suggests that Covid-19 can also be more deadly or the flu's equal. The study, published in the journal The BMJ, revealed a clearer distinction between the two contagious viruses.

 

Among hospitalized patients, Covid-19 was associated with an increased need for ventilators, more admissions into intensive care units (ICUs), longer hospital stays and nearly five times the risk of death than faced by those with the flu.

 

"And although both illnesses attack the lungs, the analysis showed Covid-19 can also damage other organs," said the study authors from Washington University in the US.

7:22 PM

LIVE: Delhi reports 1,547 new Covid-19 cases and 32 deaths in the last 24 hours

7:10 PM

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 332 fresh Covid-19 infections on Wednesday

Jammu and Kashmir recorded 332 fresh COVID-19 infections on Wednesday which took the union territory's caseload to 1,16,922, while five more fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,817. Of the fresh cases, 151 were reported from the Kashmir division and 181 from the Jammu division.

 

Jammu district recorded the highest number of fresh cases at 96, followed by 53 in Srinagar district. sThe number of active cases dropped to 4,346 in the union territory as 415 patients recovered from the infection.

So far, 1,10,769 patients have recovered. Jammu and Kashmir also reported five more COVID-19 deaths the previous day, four from Jammu and one from the Kashmir region. With these, the death toll due to the pandemic stands at 1,817.

6:52 PM

Andhra Pradesh reports 478 fresh Covid-19 cases in past 24 hours

Andhra Pradesh reported 478 fresh COVID-19 cases, 715 recoveries and three deaths in 24 hours ending 9 am on Wednesday. With this, the total positives so far went up to 8,76,814, gross recoveries to 8,65,327 and deaths to 7,067. The latest bulletin said 4,420 cases remained active in the state now.

 

A total of 1.10 crore sample tests were also completed on Wednesday, which resulted in an overall infection positivity of 7.97 per cent. All districts have been showing a steady decline in the coronavirus infection, but Chittoor, Krishna and West Godavari still have a relatively higher addition of daily cases. In 24 hours, Visakhapatnam added two fresh COVID-19 fatalities and Kadapa one to their tally.

6:07 PM

Telangana gears up to inoculate 80 lakh people in first phase once Covid-19 vaccine ready

Telangana is in the process of creating the required infrastructure for administering COVID- 19 vaccine initially to about 80 lakh people, including front-line warriors,once the preventive medicine is available for the state, official sources said on Wednesday. Training programmes for almost 10,000 vaccinators were underway and storage facilities for the doses being set up at strategic locations.

 

"Even if one vaccinator administers 100 people a day, on an average 10,000 vaccinators can vaccinate 80 lakh people in eight or ten days, a Health department official told PTI.

 

The official further said as of now there was no approved vaccine for COVID-19 in the country and preparations were being made to be ready for administering it as and when available.

5:46 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Odisha reports 407 new Covid-19 cases, five more deaths

Odisha reported 407 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the tally to 3,24,796, a Health Department official said. Five more deaths raised the toll to 1,820, he said.

 

Of the new cases, 236 were reported from different quarantine centres. Sundergarh recorded the highest 62 new cases, followed by Angul (60) and Khurda (46). Four districts -- Deogarh, Nabarangpur, Subarnapur and Rayagada -- did not report any new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.