Coronavirus LIVE: 6,396 fresh Covid-19 cases in Delhi, tally past 495,000

Coronavirus update: Maharashtra has 17,49,777 coronavirus cases, Karnataka 8,62,804, Andhra Pradesh 854,764, Tamil Nadu 7,59,916 and Kerala 527,708. Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE updates

Coronavirus update: India has reported merely 29,163 fresh Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours --- the lowest number of new cases since July 14. The total caseload now stands at 8,874,290. Russia has now replaced India as the 4th worst-affected country in terms of active cases. The country's death toll has mounted to 130,552. Delhi recorded 3,797 fresh Covid-19 cases taking the infection tally in the national capital to over 489,000 on Monday. Ninety-nine more fatalities pushed the death toll to 7,713, authorities said.

World coronavirus update: The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 55,322,706. While 38,461,075 have recovered, 1,331,602 have died so far. The US, the worst-hit country, has 11,528,222 cases, and 252,623 have died from the disease there. It is followed by India, which has 8,873,994 cases, Brazil (5,876,740), France (1,991,233), Russia (1,948,603). Meanwhile, the head of the World Health Organization said that a vaccine would not by itself stop the coronavirus pandemic. "A vaccine will complement the other tools we have, not replace them," director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Stay tuned for the latest coronavirus-related news. 

2:04 AM

China ready to cooperate with India, other BRICS nations on Covid vaccine development: Jinping

China is prepared to cooperate with India and other BRICS nations in the development of vaccines against Covid-19, said Chinese President Xi Jinping as he proposed to convene a BRICS symposium on traditional medicine to explore its role in coronavirus prevention and treatment.

Speaking at 12th BRICS summit, Xi said: "It is important that we support WHO's a crucial leadership role in this endeavour. As we speak, Chinese companies are working with their Russian and Brazilian partners on phase-III clinical trials of vaccines, and we are prepared to have cooperation with South Africa and India as well. China has joined the COVAX facility, a platform on which we will share vaccines with other countries, developing countries in particular."

"We will actively consider providing vaccines to BRICS countries where there is a need. To support the development of the BRICS Vaccine R & D Center, China has designated its own national center. We will work with other BRICS countries both online and offline to advance collective vaccine research and trials, set up plants, authorise production and recognise each other's standards. I propose that we convene a BRICS symposium on traditional medicine to explore its role in coronavirus prevention and treatment. This may well boost the global arsenal against Covid-19," he added.

1:50 AM

BA, American Airlines plan voluntary Covid-19 testing plan

British Airways said Tuesday that it will start testing passengers flying from the US to London's Heathrow Airport for Covid-19 in an effort to persuade the British government it should scrap rules requiring most international travellers to quarantine for 14 days. The airline says the pilot program will offer voluntary testing starting Nov. 25 in partnership with American Airlines for passengers flying to Heathrow from New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.

Passengers will be tested 72 hours before departure, on arrival at Heathrow and again three days after arrival. British Airways says its goal is to show that a single
test 72 hours before takeoff is enough to ensure travellers aren't carrying Covid-19, allowing authorities to end the quarantine requirement.

Airlines are calling on the UK government to scrap the 14-day quarantine requirement, which they say is killing the travel industry and slowing economic growth. The quarantine rules apply to anyone travelling to the UK from a country that isn't on the government's safe list, making most business and holiday travel unrealistic.

1:49 AM

UN releases $100 mn to guard against famine amid Covid

UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock has allocated 100 million US dollar to help people feed themselves in countries most at risk from the growing hunger epidemic caused by conflict, economic decline, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen will each receive a share of 80 million dollars from the UN's
Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Xinhua reported.

An extra 20 million dollar has been set aside for anticipatory action to fight hunger in Ethiopia, where droughts could exacerbate an already fragile situation, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on its website

1:48 AM

1,721 fresh Covid-19 cases in Chhattisgarh take tally to 213,365

1,721 fresh Covid-19 cases in Chhattisgarh take tally to 213,365; death toll rises to 2,623 with 19 new fatalities: Official

1:22 AM

Sikkim reports 27 new Covid-19 cases, one fresh fatality

Sikkim's Covid-19 tally rose to 4,548 on Tuesday as 27 more people tested positive for the infection, an official said. A 75-year-old man succumbed to the infection, pushing the Himalayan state's coronavirus death toll to 92, he said.

East Sikkim district reported 20 new cases, while South Sikkim registered seven fresh infections, State IEC member Sonam Bhutia said. Sikkim now has 312 active coronavirus cases, while 4,060 people have recovered from the disease and 84 patients have migrated to other states, he said.

The Himalayan state has so far tested 60,015 samples for Covid-19, including 179 in the last 24 hours, Bhutia added.

12:56 AM

Meghalaya reports 85 new Covid-19 cases, 1 fresh fatality

Meghalaya's Covid-19 tally rose to 10,791 on Tuesday as 85 more people, including eight security personnel, tested positive for the infection, a health official said. A 65-year-old woman succumbed to the infection in West Garo Hills district, pushing the state's coronavirus death toll to 102, he said. As many as 283 more people were cured of the disease, Health Services Director Aman War said.

12:48 AM

Gujarat records 1,125 more coronavirus cases, 7 deaths

 

Gujarat on Tuesday recorded 1,125 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 190,361, while the death toll climbed to 3,815 with seven more succumbing. In November so far, the state has added 17,417 cases at a daily average of 1,024.

 

A total of 1,116 patients were discharged, taking the total to 174,088, while there are 12,458 active cases currently. At 234 cases, Ahmedabad saw a 200-plus daily tally for the seventh day running, and was followed by Surat with 180, Vadodara with 133, Rajkot with 92 and Mehsana with 60.

12:31 AM

513 new coronavirus cases in Bihar

513 new coronavirus cases in Bihar, tally 228,000, active cases 5,541; toll 1,194 with 5 more deaths: health bulletin

11:23 PM

6,396 fresh Covid-19 cases in Delhi, tally past 495,000

6,396 fresh Covid-19 cases in Delhi take tally to over 495,000; death toll rises to 7,812 with 99 new fatalities: Authorities

10:22 PM

FIFA cancels U-17 women's World Cup in India, allots it 2022 edition

The Women's Under-17 World Cup in India, which was postponed to 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic, was on Tuesday cancelled by the world governing body FIFA and the country was handed the hosting rights of the 2022 edition.
 

The decision was taken by the Bureau of the FIFA Council which took stock of the current global Covid-19 pandemic and its continuing impact on football. "... with the inability to further postpone these tournaments, the FIFA-Confederations Covid-19 Working Group subsequently recommended that the 2020 editions of the two women's youth tournaments be cancelled and that the hosting rights for the 2022 editions be offered to the countries that were due to host the 2020 editions," the FIFA said in a statement.

10:06 PM

FDA to make emergency use authorisation data public for Covid-19 vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it would make public reviews of all data and information regarding the emergency use authorization (EUA) granted to Covid-19 drugs and vaccines.

"Today's transparency action is just one of a number of steps we are taking to ensure public confidence in our EUA review process for drugs and biological products, especially any potential Covid-19 vaccines," FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement. 

Hahn said all FDA drug and biological product centers intend, "to the extent appropriate and permitted by law", to share information about scientific review documents supporting the issuance, revision or revocation of EUAs.

9:35 PM

Maharashtra records fresh 2,840 cases, tally at 1,752,509

With 2,840 fresh Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra's tally rises to 1,752,509; 68 deaths take toll to 46,102: State health department

9:24 PM

People from Delhi to be randomly tested for Covid: Gautam Buddh Dist Magistrate

People coming from Delhi to Noida to be randomly tested for Covid-19 from Wednesday: Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate Suhas L Y

9:01 PM

Random Covid-19 test for people coming from Delhi to Noida from Wednesday

People coming from Delhi to Noida will be randomly tested for COVID-19 from Wednesday, the administration of Gautam Buddh Nagar, adjoining the national capital, in Uttar Pradesh said. The decision for random sampling came during an online meeting of senior administration and health department officials with District Magistrate Suhas L Y on Tuesday amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in Delhi.

 

There will be no restriction on free movement of people between Noida and Delhi, Suhas told PTI.

 

"In view of the rising cases of coronavirus in Delhi, the district magistrate has directed officials to form teams that would be deployed at Noida-Delhi borders at DND and Chilla to randomly check people coming from the national capital for the infection," he said.

 

The district magistrate said the recent rise in cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar because of which the strategy to fight the pandemic is being "retuned".

8:58 PM

Russia begins post-registration trials of second Covid-19 vaccine

The post-registration trials of the "EpiVacCorona" vaccine against Covid-19 have begun in Russia, head of the Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare Anna Popova said on Tuesday, according to a media report.

 

Russia became the first country to give regulatory approval to a Covid-19 vaccine in August when Sputnik V was officially registered ahead of large-scale clinical trial.

 

The second Russian vaccine to get regulatory approval, dubbed EpiVacCorona, has been developed by the Vector State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology.