Coronavirus LIVE: China puts curbs in Hebei province as outbreak worsens

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,958,282, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 924,137, Andhra Pradesh 883,876, Tamil Nadu 823,181, and Kerala 790,882

Coronavirus live updates: With 20,460 fresh Covid-19 cases, India's caseload now stands at 10,395,938. The country's death toll has mounted to 150,372. With 1,958,282 cases, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 924,137, Andhra Pradesh  883,876, Tamil Nadu 823,181, and Kerala 790,882. The Centre will send a high-level team to support public health interventions for Covid-19 management in Kerala as the state has been reporting a "very high" number of daily coronavirus cases, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the number of people who have tested positive for the new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the country has climbed to 73.

World coronavirus update: The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 87,618,339. While 63,119,308 have recovered, 1,889,524 have died so far. The US, the worst-hit country, has 21,856,450 cases, and 369,958 have died from the disease there. It is followed by India, which has 10,395,938 cases, Brazil (7,874,539), Russia (3,308,601), UK (2,836,801).

Stay tuned for the latest coronavirus-related news.

3:01 AM

US endures pandemic's deadliest day, overshadowed by Washington mob assault on Capitol

As the events that unfolded in Washington on Wednesday captured the nation's attention, the raging coronavirus pandemic claimed its highest US death toll yet, killing more than 4,000 people in a single day, according to a Reuters tally.
 

Covid-19 hospitalizations stood at 132,051, stetting a grim record for the fourth day in a row as of late Wednesday night, a Reuters analysis of public health data showed.
 

As thousands of mostly unmasked supporters of President Donald Trump laid siege to the US Capitol, daily reported cases of the novel coronavirus again soared past the 250,000 mark, taking the total case tally to 21.2 million.
 

The deadly virus surging in most of the nation is hammering parts of California most severely, including the Los Angeles metropolitan area, pushing hospitals to their limits.
 

Earlier this week, public health officials ordered the suspension of elective surgeries for at least three weeks in more than a dozen southern and central counties in the state.
 

Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania logged their highest single-day death toll on Wednesday.
 

The latest surge is compounded by the rapid spread of a new, highly transmittable Covid-19 variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom in December and has now spread to at least seven US states, including New York, Colorado and California.
 

The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday announced the first confirmed case of the variant in Dauphin County, where an individual tested positive "after known international exposure."
 

The variant was also identified in Texas on Thursday, contracted by a resident, with no history of travel, of Harris County, which includes the Houston metropolitan area, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.
 

With the strain on stretched healthcare systems increasing across the country, federal and local officials announced steps to speed the sluggish pace of inoculating eligible residents with two authorized coronavirus vaccines.
 

1:26 AM

France keeps restaurants, ski resorts closed in coronavirus battle

Prime Minister Jean Castex said restaurants, cinemas and museums would remain closed throughout January and ski resorts might not reopen before the February holidays as France cranked up its vaccination rollout.
 

A nationwide nightly curfew was being extended until at least Jan. 20, said Castex, adding that he could not rule out a further nationwide tightening of measures at a time hospitals remain under severe pressure.
 

One in two intensive care beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients and non-essential procedures are still being postponed to ease the burden on hospitals.

"It is out of the question that we lower our guard," Castex told a news conference.
 

Castex said restaurants would remain shuttered until mid-February at the earliest.
 

The coronavirus has claimed more than 66,500 lives in France, the seventh highest death toll in the world. Health Minister Olivier Veran said France was closely tracking cases of the new British and South African variants of the virus.
 

Nineteen cases of the British variant have been identified in France, the minister said, including two particularly worrying clusters in the greater Paris region and Brittany.
 

France will continue to limit entry to France from Britain to French citizens and returning residents in possession of a negative Covid-19 test.
 

President Emmanuel Macron and his government have come under fire for the slow pace of the vaccine rollout which has been tangled in red tape and left France lagging behind European neighbours such as Britain and Germany.
 

12:04 AM

Four more Delhi residents test positive for new strain of coronavirus

Four more Delhi residents have tested positive for the new coronavirus strain, sources said on Thursday, even as Health Minister Satyendar Jain appealed to the Centre to extend the ban on flights between India and the UK till the end of January.
 

The total number of people found infected with the mutant variant of Covid-19 that was first detected in the UK now stands at 13.
 

Four more samples sent for genome sequencing have been found positive, as part of the door-to-door medical checkup of people who had recently arrived from the UK and persons who came in their contact in the city, sources said.
 

"So, the total number of people found positive with the new strain, now stands at 13 in Delhi," a source said.
 

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan chaired a meeting with health ministers of all states and union territories, regarding COVID-19 vaccination dry run to be conducted on January 8 in all districts of the country.
 

"In today's vc (video conference) with @drharshvardhan I requested him that the ban on UK flights should be extended to 31st January, 2021 as UK is bearing all time high surge in cases and deaths," Jain tweeted.
 

At least 66 people, including those who recently returned from the UK and their contacts, have tested positive for the coronavirus. Most been kept in separate isolation facility at LNJP Hospital.
 

Thirteen of those have been discharged since December 29, a source said.
 

12:03 AM

12 fresh virus cases in Ladakh; total count 9,589

The union territory of Ladakh reported 12 new cases of coronavirus, pushing the infection count to 9,589, officials said on Thursday.
 

All fresh cases were detected in Leh, they said.
 

So far, the UT has recorded 127 deaths with Leh alone accounting for 84.
 

With the recovery of 28 more patients, the number of active cases came down to 219, they said.
 

A total of 9,243 patients have recovered after successful treatment so far, according to the officials.
 

With 12 new cases, Leh's tally has risen to 7,490. Kargil's infection count stands at 2,099, they said.
 

9:54 PM

Chhattisgarh records 1,010 new Covid-19 cases, 7 deaths

Chhattisgarh on Thursday reported 1,010 Covid-19 cases and seven more deaths, taking the infection count to 2,86,596 and the toll to 3,454, a health official said.
 

The number of recoveries reached 2,74,283 after 104 people were discharged from hospitals and 968 completed their home isolation period.
 

The tally of active cases stood at 8,859, he said.
 

Raipur district accounted for 172 of the new cases for the day, taking its total count to 53,882, including 734 deaths.
 

Durg witnessed 117 new cases, Bilaspur 80, Raigarh 80 and Rajnandgaon 74, among the other districts, he said.
 

Of the seven deaths, one each took place on Thursday and Wednesday, while five occurred earlier, but were added to the fatality count now, he said.
 

With 29,899 more samples tested on Thursday, the total number of tests in the state has gone up to 36,96,395.
 

Chhattisgarh's coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases 2,86,596, new cases 1,010, deaths 3,454, recovered 2,74,283, active cases 8,858, people tested so far 36,96,395.

9:53 PM

Aston Villa reports 'significant' virus outbreak

Aston Villa reported a "significant" coronavirus outbreak and closed its training ground on Thursday, a day before a scheduled FA Cup home game against Liverpool.
 

The Premier League club canceled first-team training ahead of the match.
 

"Discussions are ongoing between medical representatives of the club, the Football Association and the Premier League," Aston Villa said in a statement.
 

The club said "a large number" of players and staff returned positive tests following routine testing on Monday, and they "immediately went into isolation." "A second round of testing was carried out immediately and produced more positive results today," the club said Thursday.
 

Earlier, Southampton's FA Cup game against Shrewsbury was called off after the third-division team reported a coronavirus outbreak.
 

The third-round match was scheduled for Saturday at St. Mary's Stadium. It wasn't immediately clear if already tight schedules will allow the game to be played at a later date.
 

"Shrewsbury Town Football Club earlier confirmed several members of the Town squad and the first team staff tested positive for Covid-19," the League One team said.
 

The Football Association informed Southampton and said its Professional Game Board will meet early next week "to make a decision as to what will happen," the Premier League club said.
 

8:55 PM

Centre asks four states to take prompt steps to curb recent spike in Covid-19 cases

The Centre has asked four states recording a surge in COVID-19 cases -- Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal -- to maintain a "strict vigil" and take steps to curb the recent spike. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to these states to draw their attention "to the low and declining testing rates in the states, stating that any laxity at this crucial junction may squander the results of our collective actions in containing the transmission", according to a health ministry statement.

 

The states have been advised to maintain a "strict vigil" and to take steps to keep a check on the rising cases, especially in view of the new strain of the virus being observed in a few states in India.

 

They have been advised to analyse the surge at the district and sub-district levels to understand the reasons for this rise and plan adequate measures proactively to curb the same.

8:27 PM

Kerala logs 5,051 new Covid-19 cases, 5,638 recoveries; tally nears 800,000

Kerala recorded 5,051 new COVID-19 cases, including four UK returnees and 5,638 recoveries on Thursday as the total caseloadinched towards the eight lakh mark.

 

In the last 24 hours ending 2 PM, 60,613 samples have been tested and the test positivity rate was 8.83 per cent, Health Minister K K Shailaja said.

 

So far, 82,85,394 samples have been sent for testing. The toll has gone up to 3234 with 25 more deaths being added to the tally. Ernakulam continues to report the highest number of cases with 663 and presently 8,902 people are undergoing treatment for the infection in the district.

8:06 PM

Maharashtra reports 3,729 new cases, 3,350 discharges, and 72 deaths in a day

7:39 PM

Covid-19 vaccination likely to begin in India by Jan 12

The much-anticipated inoculation programme against Covid-19 in the country is expected to begin by January 12, government sources told IANS.

 

"In all likelihood, the Covid immunisation drive is expected to start early next week. Considering the preparations, the roll-out may start on January 11 or latest by January 12," a senior government official inducted in the vaccine distribution programme said.

 

The sources also informed that the government has started preparing the freight carrying the vaccine vials for transportation to different hubs located across the country. The agencies involved in the vaccine roll-out programme will start dispatching the vaccine vials from Thursday onwards, they added.

 

"The dispatch is expected to start late on Thursday evening or early in the day on Friday," the officials said.

6:56 PM

AP adds 295 new coronavirus cases, overall tally crosses 8.84 lakh mark

COVID-19 cases added up to 8,84,171 in Andhra Pradesh as 295 were reported afresh in the state on Thursday. In the 24 hours ending 9 AM on Thursday, 368 patients had recovered while only one succumbed in the state, the latest bulletin said. The total recoveries touched 8,74,223 and deaths 7,125, leaving an active caseload of 2,822.

 

West Godavari district crossed the 94,000 gross cases mark, the second largest number in the state, while Guntur went past 75,000 and Srikakulam 46,000 on Thursday.

 

Krishna district reported 45 fresh cases, 54 recoveries and one death in 24 hours even as its active cases fell to 416. All other districts added less than 40 new cases each in a day, according to the bulletin.

6:16 PM

Odisha reports 230 new coronavirus cases

Odisha reported 230 COVID-19 cases, 230 discharges and one death on Thursday. The State Health Department said the total count of cases stands at 3,31,151 and includes 3,27,008 recovered cases.

 

Of 230 new recovered cases, the maximum recoveries were reported from Sundargarh (31) and Anugul (30). The state had 2,202 active cases on Wednesday.

 

The department said a 70-year old male COVID-19 patient of Khordha district died on January 7. He was also suffering from a chronic liver disease with pulmonary hypertension and chronic kidney disease.

5:55 PM

South Africa buys 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine

South Africa says it will import 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to inoculate the country's health workers. This is South Africa's first announcement of the purchase of a COVID-19 vaccine as cases there soar.

 

The first 1 million doses will be delivered later this month from the Serum Institute of India, followed by an additional 500,000 doses in February, Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize announced Thursday.

 

South Africa is battling a dramatic resurgence of COVID-19 that is quickly outstripping its first peak. It announced record highs of 21,832 new confirmed cases and 844 deaths late Wednesday.

 

The country of 60 million people has reported by far the most cases of the coronavirus in Africa, with more than 1.1 million confirmed infections, including 31,368 deaths, representing more than 30% of all cases on the continent of 1.3 billion.

5:33 PM

Prioritise MSME labourers, give them Covid-19 vaccine free of cost: Industry body urges PM

Industry body Noida Entrepreneurs' Association (NEA) on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prioritise labourers working in the MSME sector for COVID-19 vaccine and provide them the jabs free of cost. In a letter to the prime minister, the city-based NEA, which has over 6,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) as members, cited media reports that claim that the vaccine may cost anything between Rs 200 and Rs 1,000.

 

In the letter, NEA President Vipin Malhan said the MSME sector employs lakhs of labourers who are aged below 50 years and earn around Rs 15,000 a month.

 

"These labourers make an important contribution for the country, work on daily wages and work day and night to manage a living for themselves and their families," Malhan said.

 

He added that an amount of Rs 1,000 for the vaccine will be a big sum for them to bear.

5:06 PM

Delhi Govt orders re-opening of medical colleges