Coronavirus LIVE: 30 vaccines in different stages of development in India

Coronavirus live update: At 17,84,361, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 874,555, Andhra Pradesh 862,758, Tamil Nadu 771,619 and Kerala 566,492

9:02 PM

Coronavirus test if caught without mask in Jharkhand

The Ranchi district administration has come out with strict guidelines to contain the spread of coronavirus. As per the new guidelines, if anyone is caught without mask will have to undergo coronavirus test, for which static testing centres will be established at Sainik Market and Khadgada Bus Stand in Ranchi.

 

According to Ranchi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Chhavi Ranjan, shops and business establishments which have been sealed or closed for violation of Covid guidelines will be allowed to open only after corona tests of all the employees are done.

 

The DC also collected information regarding the tests which are being done across different centres in the state capital. He asked the in-charge of the testing cell to increase testing and also asked the the officials concerned to maintain the ratio between rapid antigen tests and RTPCR tests.

8:55 PM

Nagpur records 356 new coronavirus cases

As many as 356 persons tested positive for coronavirus, while 11 died of the infection in Maharashtra's Nagpur district on Tuesday. With the addition of the latest cases, the tally in the district has reached 1,09,561.

 

The latest casualties have taken the toll to 3,615, of which 2,507 deaths were reported from Nagpur and 1,108 were from rural areas and outside the district, he said.

 

As many as 133 patients were discharged from various hospitals during the day, raising the count of recoveries to 1,01,601. There are currently 4,345 active cases in the district.

8:37 PM

Madhya Pradesh reports 1,766 fresh coronavirus cases

Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday reported 1,766 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the count of infections to 1,96,511, while 11 fatalities pushed the toll to 3,183. A total of 1,112 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the state's tally of recoveries to 1,80,349. Three persons died in Indore, two in Bhopal while one each succumbed in Gwalior, Jabalpur, Sagar, Betul, Dewas and Bhind, officials said.

 

Indore accounted for 565 cases in the day, followed by Bhopal (324), Gwalior (88) and Jabalpur (67). The number of cases in Indore now stands at 38,812, including 738 deaths, while Bhopal's case tally stood at 30,025 with 508 fatalities.

8:27 PM

Rajasthan coronavirus tally crosses 250,000-mark

Rajasthan recorded 19 more fatalities due to the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 2,200, while 3,314 fresh cases brought the infection count to 2,50,482 in the state. A total of 25,197 COVID-19 patients are under treatment in the state. According to the bulletin, so far 2,23,085 people have been discharged after treatment.

 

The death toll from the pandemic stands at 419 in Jaipur, followed by 223 in Jodhpur, 169 in Ajmer, 158 in Bikaner, 127 in Kota, 102 in Bharatpur, 85 in Udaipur and 83 in Pali.

 

Of the fresh COVID-19 cases, 656 were recorded in Jaipur, 471 in Jodhpur, 320 in Kota, 275 in Ajmer, 232 in Alwar, 165 in Pali, 156 in Nagaur, 134 in Udaipur, 113 in Bikaner, 100 in Tonk, besides cases reported in other districts of the state.

8:19 PM

PM has indicated Covid-19 vaccine likely to be ready soon: Karnataka CM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indicated that the COVID-19 vaccine was likely to be ready soon and has asked states to prepare for its quick and effective distribution, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Tuesday.

 

"He (PM) spoke about it (vaccine) and there are indications that it may be ready in about four weeks, we (centre) are preparing for it and asked the states to also make all the necessary arrangements," Yediyurappa said.

 

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, he said it may take time, four-five weeks, but efforts are on in this direction.

 

"We have been told to make necessary arrangements for the storage and distribution of vaccines once available," he said, adding that it may take four, five or six weeks time for the vaccine to come. The Prime Minister has asked us to maintain caution regarding the spread of COVID," he said.

8:11 PM

Rapid Covid-19 testing being conducted at Delhi-Ghaziabad, UP border near Gazipur

8:06 PM

Maharashtra reports 5,439 new coronavirus cases, 30 fatalities

Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 5,439 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the count of infections to 17,89,800. With 30 more people succumbing to the infection, the overall toll rose to 46,683.

 

A total of 4,086 patients were discharged in the day after treatment, taking the tally of recoveries in the state to 16,58,879. The number of active patients now stands at 83,221.

 

Mumbai city reported 939 new coronavirus positive cases, taking its cumulative caseload to 2,77,453 while death toll rose to 10,708 with 19 people succumbing to the infection. The state has so far conducted 1,03,66,579 tests.

7:59 PM

Covid-19 LIVE: Tamil Nadu records 1,557 new coronavirus cases

Tamil Nadu logged 1,557 new COVID-19 cases, taking the overall infection count to 7,73,176,while 17 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 11,639, the health department said on Tuesday. Recoveries continued to eclipse new infections with 1,910 people walking out of health care facilities, taking the overall tally to 7,49,662 till date, a bulletin said.

 

Active cases in the State stood at 11,875. Tamil Nadu has been recording below 2,000 cases since November 13. Two districts, including the State capital, logged new cases in triple digits with Chennai adding 469 cases and Coimbatore 146 while the restwere scattered across other districts.

7:40 PM

528 more test positive for coronavirus in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand's COVID-19 tally rose to 72,160 on Tuesday with 528 more people testing positive for the infection, while 11 more patients died. Deharadun district reported the highest number of 192 cases, Haridwar 83, Udham Singh Nagar 69, Pithoragarh 49, Nainital 37, Pauri 24, Almora 20, Chamoli 20, Uttarkashi 11, Bageshwar seven, Tehri six, Rudraprayag five and Champawat five, a state health department bulletin said.

 

Meanwhile, 11 more COVID-19 patients died in the state, taking the toll so far to 1,180. A total of 65,703 infected people have recuperated from the infection, 646 have migrated out of the state and 4,631 are under treatment.

7:31 PM

Delhi graveyard running out of burial space with rise in Covid-19 deaths

The biggest Muslim graveyard in the national capital near ITO is running out of burial space amid rising COVID-19 deaths with coronavirus victims from other NCR areas also being buried here, an official managing it said on Tuesday.

 

"There should be some arrangement so that COVID-19 victims are buried at graveyards in their neighbourhoods and their relatives do not have to come here because space is limited," said Haji Mian Faiyazuddin, secretary of Qabristan Ahle Islam in the vicinity of the walled city.

 

He said the management committee will write to the Delhi government for help to ensure that COVID-19 burials from other parts of the city are not shifted to the graveyard. Faiyazuddin said a problem faced by the graveyard management is that it also has to provide space for burial of COVID-19 patients from neighbouring cities like Noida, Ghaziabad and Meerut who die while undergoing treatment in Delhi.

7:18 PM

EU secures 160 million doses of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine

The European Union has struck a deal for up to 160 million doses of U.S. firm Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the head of the European Commission said on Tuesday, taking the EU's potential stock of COVID-19 shots to nearly 2 billion. Last week, Moderna said its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19, based on interim data from a late-stage clinical trial.

 

"I am happy to announce that tomorrow we will approve a new contract to secure another COVID-19 vaccine," Ursula von der Leyen said, adding the deal "allows us to buy up to 160 million doses of a vaccine produced by Moderna."

 

Actual purchases will be carried out by EU governments if the vaccine is approved by the EU's drug regulator.

 

7:08 PM

Andhra Pradesh adds 1,085 fresh coronavirus cases, tally rises to 863,843

Andhra Pradesh reported 1,085 fresh cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, taking the gross positives so far to 8,63,843. In the 24 hours ending 9 am on Tuesday, 1,447 patients got cured and eight more succumbed in the state, the latest bulletin said.

 

The state COVID-19 table showed 8,43,863 total recoveries and 6,956 deaths, with 13,024 active cases. Krishna district has been showing a rather upward spiral in daily cases as it added 224 in 24 hours, the highest in the state. It also reported two more COVID-19 deaths.

6:55 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: Russian vaccine Sputnik V has over 95% efficacy

The Russia-developed Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus has been found to be over 95 percent effective, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF ) Kirill Dmitriev said on Tuesday. In a virtual conference from Moscow, Dmitriev said Sputnik V is not only one of the most effective but also among the affordable vaccines in the world.

 

The Sputnik V vaccine has been developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology and RDIF. The RDIF CEO said the vaccine can be stored in temperatures ranging from 2-8 degrees Celsius which is a very important factor in facilitating easy distribution. The efficacy of the vaccine is over 95 percent which is great news not only for Rusia but (also) for the world, Dmitriev said.

6:45 PM

Nepal's coronavirus tally reaches 224,078

Nepal's COVID-19 tally jumped to 224,078 on Tuesday after the country reported 1,790 new cases in the past 24 hours.

 

The country reported 24 more COVID-19-related fatalities in the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 1,361, the Ministry of Health and Population said. In the past 24 hours, 2,791 people have been discharged from hospitals after their recovery. There are currently 17,859 active cases across the country.

6:29 PM

India has put to use significant scientific calibre in response to Covid-19 pandemic: Vardhan

From development of indigenous vaccines to novel point-of-care diagnostics and therapeutic formulations, India has put to use its significant scientific calibre in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Union minister Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday.

 

Addressing the first virtual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Young Scientist Conclave, the minister of Science and Technology said the COVID-19 pandemic is a test, demonstrating that multilateral cooperation is the key to overcoming such global challenges.

 

Vardhan, who is also the minister for health and family welfare, said COVID-19 has emerged as one of the greatest global challenges, requiring a strategised, collective global response which has seen young scientists play a significant role. Talking about response by India, he said, "India has put to use its significant scientific calibre.