LIVE: Maharashtra to appoint fresh medical graduates at Covid-19 hospitals

Coronavirus latest update: Worldwide there are 30,024,106 cases of coronavirus. India's total number of corona cases has surged to 5,118,253 . Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE updates

7:37 PM

Public non-cooperation major reason for high Covid-19 fatality in Puducherry

Non-disclosure of Covid-19 symptoms by the public to visiting medical teams was the major reason for high fatality rate in Puducherry, Lt Governor Kiran Bedi on Thursday said. As Bedi flagged concern amid rising infections and deaths, Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao also said it was "regrettable" that those having symptoms of Covid-19 did not approach the hospitals in time.

 

They voiced concern as the coronavirus case fatality rate in the union territory touched 2.01 per cent as against 1.63 per cent at national level.

7:29 PM

Tamil Nadu records 5,560 new coronavirus cases, 59 deaths

7:20 PM

Kerala records highest single day spike of 4,351 Covid cases

In the highest single day surge so far, Kerala on Thursday reported 4,351 Covid-19 cases, taking the total infection count to 1,22,214, while the toll touched489 with 10 more deaths. Seventytwo health workers are among those who tested positive and a total of 45,730 sampleswere tested, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here.

 

Of the fresh cases, a lion's share of 4,081 people were infected through contactwhile the source of infection of 351 was not yet known. As many as 57 had come from abroad, 141 people from other states, he said.

 

This is the first time that the daily cases in the state crossed the 4,000 mark.

7:09 PM

Pak closes 22 educational institutes in 2 days over non-compliance with Covid-19 SOPs

At least 22 educational institutions in Pakistan have been closed down during the last 48 hours for failing to comply with the government-issued standard operating procedures for curbing the spread of Covid-19, the country's coronavirus control body said on Thursday.

 

In a statement, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) said that action was taken after random checks. "During the last 48 hours, 22 educational institutions across Pakistan have been closed due to non compliance of health SOPs/protocols and disease prevalence, it said.

7:00 PM

Painting stations, carrom board part of new child-friendly Covid ward at LNJP

Television sets playing cartoons, a painting station and carrom boards will be the features of a child-friendly Covid-19 ward at the state-run LNJP Hospital.

 

The new ward based on the theme -- From Suffering to Happiness -- was inaugurated on Wednesday.

 

The ward has six to seven television sets which play cartoons, carrom board and a painting station so that the children can also enjoy while getting treated for the infection, officials said.

6:51 PM

Home Minister Amit Shah discharged from AIIMS, after post-Covid care

6:41 PM

Jammu and Kashmir: 1,467 new Covid cases reported, tally nears 60,000

6:32 PM

Wearing glasses may offer protection from Covid-19, but more studies needed: Scientists

Daily wearers of eyeglasses might be less likely to be infected with the novel coronavirus, say scientists who call for further, large-scale studies to assess the relationship between eye protection and the risk of contracting Covid-19.

The single-centre study, published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology, assessed 276 hospitalised Covid-19 patients at Suizhou Zengdu Hospital in China, and observed that those who wore eyeglasses for an extended period of time were relatively uncommon among the study participants.

Based on this observation, the researchers, including those from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University in China, speculated that wearing eyeglasses for more than eight hours per day may be protective against the novel coronavirus infection.

6:23 PM

Kerala govt to modify order allowing asymptomatic Covid-19 migrants to work

The Kerala government has decided to modify an order that allowed asymptomatic Covid-19 guest workers in the state to work in places exclusively marked for them by taking all health precautions.

The September 14 order issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) has been withdrawn and will be issued after modifications, a senior official said on Thursday.

The order was issued after the Industries sector raised concerns over the current quarantine norms allegedly causing delay in completion of infrastructure projects in the state.

6:14 PM

Boris Johnson warns of tougher measures in Covid-19 fight

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Thursday that authorities will have to impose tougher measures to combat the spread of Covid-19 and protect'' the Christmas holidays as the government prepared to introduce stricter measures in northeast England.

 

Johnson's comments came amid reports that the government plans to impose a 10 p.m. curfew on pubs and restaurants in response to a recent jump in confirmed coronavirus cases. Local officials asked for more restrictions now to prevent a tighter lockdown later.

 

Johnson wrote in a piece published in The Sun newspaper that the only way to be certain the country can enjoy the winter holidays is to be tough now.'' 

6:05 PM

Russia's Covid-19 cases up 5,762 to over 1.08 million

Russia registered 5,762 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its total number of cases to 1,085,281, the country's coronavirus response centre said in a statement on Thursday. Meanwhile, 144 new deaths were reported, taking the death toll to 19,061, Xinhua reported citing the statement.

 

Moscow reported 730 new cases, bringing its tally of infections to 274,003, the centre said.

5:45 PM

Maharashtra: 1,796 new Covid-19 cases recorded in Thane district

Thane district of Maharashtra added 1,796 new Covid-19 cases, taking it tally above the 150,000-mark, an official said on Thursday. With these new cases, the district's Covid-19 tally stood at 1,51,236, he said.

The death toll in the district rose to 4,009 with the addition of 26 fatalities, the official said. Kalyan recorded 537 new cases followed by Navi Mumbai (375) and Thane city (364), among other areas, he said.

5:36 PM

43 new Covid-19 cases reported in Nagaland

As many as 43 new Covid-19 cases have been reported from Nagaland in the last 24 hours, S Pangnyu Phom, the state's minister for Health and Family Welfare informed on Thursday.

The highest number of new cases was reported from Dimapur with 24 cases, followed by 18 in Kohima and one from Mon.

Phom also informed that 111 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours, including 80 from Dimapur, 30 from Kohima, and one from Zunheboto.

5:26 PM

UP: Covid-19 death toll climbs to 4,771; cases over 336,000

The death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 4,771 in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday with 81 more fatalities, while 6,029 fresh cases pushed the infection tally in the state to 3,36,294, officials said. The state now has 68,235 active Covid-19 cases and 2,63,288 people have recovered from the disease till date, Additional Chief Secretary (Medical and Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said.

 

The death toll due to the virus has climbed to 4,771 and the total number of cases has risen to 3,36,294, he added. On Wednesday, the infection tally was 3,30,265 and taking it into cognisance the fresh cases are 6,029 in the last 24 hours.

 

Prasad said that the recovery rate of Covid-19 patients in the state is 78.29 per cent and in September the positivity rate till now is 4.7 per cent in the state.

5:17 PM

Mizoram's Covid tally at 1,506, active cases 557