Coronavirus LIVE: US Vice President Mike Pence gets vaccine in public event
The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 75,223,151. While 52,805,160 have recovered, 1,666,988 have lost their lives
 "Mike Pence (Photo:Wikipedia)")
Vice President Mike Pence became the highest profile world leader to be vaccinated for the coronavirus Friday (Photo:Wikipedia)
Brazil reports nearly 70k daily Covid-19 cases
Brazil registered 69,826 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its national infection tally to 7,110,434, the Health Ministry said. Besides the new cases on Thursday, the Ministry also registered an additional 1,092 fatalities that raised the death toll to 184,827. With the new tallies, Brazil currently accounts for the world's third highest caseload after the US and India, and also the second largest death toll just after the US. The sstate of Sao Paulo, the country's Covid-19 epicentre, has decided to start the 2021 school year in February with mandatory face-to-face classes and social-distancing regulations.
Recovered cases in India cross 9.5 million
Coronavirus tracker: December 18, 2020
State-wise data on coronavirus deaths, recoveries
Trump stays on sidelines as vaccine injections begin
President Donald Trump's administration helped deliver vaccinations against the coronavirus earlier than even some in his administration thought possible, but the president has been largely absent from the effort to sell the American public on what aides hope will be a key part of his legacy. Trump launched Operation Warp Speed the government campaign to help swiftly develop and distribute vaccines this spring with great fanfare in the White House Rose Garden. But now, five days into the largest vaccination campaign in the nation's history, Trump has held no public events to trumpet the rollout. He hasn't been inoculated himself. He has tweeted only twice about the shot.
SC directs states to carry out fire safety audit of dedicated COVID-19 hospitals
The Supreme Court on Friday directed all the states to carry out fire safety audit of dedicated COVID-19 hospitals across the country to prevent fire incidents in medical institutions. The apex court also directed dedicated COVID-19 hospitals to take a no objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department within four weeks and said that failure to do so will invite punitive action. A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said that those hospitals, whose fire NOC has expired, will have to get it renewed within four weeks.
Puducherry CM joins protest against farm laws
29 new COVID-19 cases push Arunachal Pradesh's tally to 16,603
Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 16,603 as 29 more people, including four security personnel, tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Friday. Of the fresh cases, 11 were reported from Tawang, four each from the Capital Complex region and East Siang and three from Lohit, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.
European leaders quarantine after Macron's Covid-19 diagnosis (Ld)
A host of European leaders were self-quaranting after coming in contact with French President Emmanuel Macron who has tested positive the novel coronavirus. In a statement on Thursday, the Elysee Palace confirmed the 42-year-old President's positive result, saying that he "will isolate himself for seven days" but "will continue to work and carry out his activities remotely", Xinhua news agency reported. Macron attended a European Union (EU) summit in Brussels last week and an event organised by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris on Monday.
EU to start Covid-19 vaccination on Dec 27
Thane district records 331 new COVID-19 cases, 7 deaths
With the addition of 331 new COVID-19 cases, the tally in Thane district of Maharashtra has gone up to 2,37,660, an official said on Friday. He said the death toll rose to 5,849after seven more patients succumbed to the infection. The official said the COVID-19 recovery rate in the district is 95.53 per cent (2,27,048), while the mortality rate is 2.46 per cent (5,849).
10 new COVID-19 cases in Andamans
Ten more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, raising the tally in the Union Territory to 4,860, a health department official said on Friday. Of the 10 fresh cases, nine have travel history while one was detected during contact tracing, the official said. The death toll remained at 61 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported, he said.
22,889 new Covid-19 infections reported in 24 hours
15,89,18,646 samples tested for COVID19 tested: ICMR
COVID-19 virus can cause blood-brain barrier, says new study
A new study by University of Washington Health Sciences/UW Medicine strongly claims that COVID-19 virus can show cognitive effects to the patients such as brain fog and fatigue. The study published in Nature Neuroscience shows that the SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, can enter the brain. Researchers, through a mouse model, found that the spike protein, often depicted as the red arms of the virus, can cross the blood-brain barrier in mice. The spike protein often called the S1 protein, dictates where the virus can enter. Usually, the virus does the same thing as its binding protein, said lead author William A. Banks, a professor of medicine at the University Of Washington School Of Medicine and a Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Healthcare System physician and researcher.
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First Published: Dec 18 2020 | 6:58 AM IST
