Coronavirus LIVE: Wearing masks mandatory for next 6 mnths, says Thackeray

Coronavirus live updates: Kerala reported the maximum number of new cases in the country on Saturday with 6,293 new Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours.

4:50 PM

12 more test Covid positive in Mizoram; tally rises to 4,122

Twelve more people tested positive for novel coronavirus in Mizoram in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 4,122, an official said on Sunday.

 

The number of active cases in the state now is 158, while 3,957 patients have recovered from the disease.

 

Seven people have died due to COVID-19 in Mizoram so far.

 

Of the 12 fresh cases, seven were reported from Lunglei district, three from Kolasib district, and one each from Aizawl and Saitual districts, he said.

 

These people who are asymptomatic have returned from Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur.

4:33 PM

Covid-19 pandemic drives many people into nature: Study

In a new study, researchers have revealed that Covid -19 pandemic drove many urban dwellers into nature for the first time in years.

 

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found that 26 per cent of people visiting parks during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic had rarely - or never - visited nature in the previous year.

 

"Like many people, we noticed a large increase in the number of visitors to urban forests and parks in the early days of the pandemic," said the study's senior author Brendan Fisher of the University of Vermont (UVM) in the US.

 

"We wanted to understand how people are using local nature to cope with the physical and mental challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic," Fisher added.

 

For the study, researchers surveyed visitors to 25 parks and natural areas around greater Burlington, Vermont, an area of roughly 214,000 residents, or roughly a third of the state's population.

 

The team surveyed a sample of over 400 people as the state's health protocols - including social distancing, business and school closures, and travel restrictions - were introduced.

4:32 PM

Odisha reports 372 new Covid-19 cases, 4 deaths

Odisha reports 372 new COVID-19 cases, 4 deaths

 

As many as 372 new Covid-19 cases and 4 deaths have been reported in Odisha on Saturday, as per the State Health Department bulletin issued on Sunday.

 

"Odisha recorded 372 new Covid-19 cases, 362 recoveries and 4 deaths on Saturday," read the bulletin.

 

3:37 PM

Dutch ban UK flights, fearing the new coronavirus variant

The Netherlands is banning flights from the UK for at least the rest of the year in an attempt to make sure that a new strain of coronavirus that is sweeping across southern England does not reach its shores.

 

The ban came into effect Sunday morning and the government said it was reacting to tougher measures imposed in London and surrounding areas on Saturday by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

 

The Netherlands said it will assess with other European Union nations the possibilities to contain the import of the virus from the United Kingdom."

 

3:03 PM

India's active Covid-19 caseload drops to 305,000 cases

India's trajectory of active Covid-19 cases continues to follow a steadily dipping path and the total active caseload has dropped to 305,344 on Sunday, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has said.

 

According to the Union Health Ministry, this has been made possible by the trend of recoveries exceeding new cases and a low number of fatalities per day which have ensured a total net reduction of the active caseload.

 

India's present active caseload consists of just 3.04 per cent of India's total positive cases. The new recoveries of 29,690 in the last 24 hours have led to a net decline of 3,407 in the total active cases, MoHFW said in a release.

 

3:03 PM

India's active Covid-19 caseload drops to 305,000 cases

India's trajectory of active Covid-19 cases continues to follow a steadily dipping path and the total active caseload has dropped to 305,344 on Sunday, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has said.

 

According to the Union Health Ministry, this has been made possible by the trend of recoveries exceeding new cases and a low number of fatalities per day which have ensured a total net reduction of the active caseload.

 

India's present active caseload consists of just 3.04 per cent of India's total positive cases. The new recoveries of 29,690 in the last 24 hours have led to a net decline of 3,407 in the total active cases, MoHFW said in a release.

 

3:02 PM

Pandemic exposes vulnerability of Italy's 'new poor'

The coronavirus pandemic did not produce Elena Simone's first budgetary rough patch.The 49-year-old single mother found herself out of the job market when the 2008 global financial crisis hit Italy and never fully got back in, but she created a patchwork of small jobs that provided for herself and the youngest of her three children.

 

That all changed with Italy's first COVID-19 lockdown in the spring.

 

With schools closed, so went Simone's cafeteria job. Her housecleaning gigs dried up, too. While others returned to work when the lockdown ended, Simone stayed frozen out.

2:25 PM

Thimphu goes into complete lockdown

Thimphu, the capitalof Bhutan, went into a complete lockdown on Sunday after a 25-year-old woman, who visited a flu clinic at the National Referral Hospital in the city, tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
 

Prime Minister Lotay Tshering announced the lockdown within Thimphu city with immediate effect and asked everyone to remain home, reports Xinhua news agency.
 

Tshering said all outbound travellers from Thimphu are restricted and only emergencies and important movements into the capital city will be considered and allowed.

He said the Health Ministry would be conducting intensive contact tracing.
 

The lockdown is expected to enable health officials to trace and test all possible contacts.

1:01 PM

Stricter curbs reintroduced in Sydney due to Covid-19 cluster

Australia's biggest city of Sydney reintroduced stricter restrictions on Sunday as confirmed cases related to newly-discovered coronavirus cluster has increased to 68.

The state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded 30 more locally acquired coronavirus cases on Saturday night, and an additional six cases in hotel quarantine, making the total number of cases related to the cluster in Northern Beaches to 68, Xinhua news agency reported.

Among the 30 new locally acquired cases, 28 are linked to the Avalon cluster, while investigations are ongoing into the source of the remaining two cases, both of whom live on the Northern Beaches.

12:47 PM

Brazil's Covid-19 deaths exceed 186,000

Brazil's coronavirus death toll has increased to 186,356 after 706 more infected people died in the past 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health.

In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry said the country recorded a total of 50,177 new cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 7,213,155, reports Xinhua news agency.

The South American nation currently accounts for the world's second highest Covid-19 death toll, only behind the US, and the third largest caseload, after the US and India.

12:31 PM

With worst Covid-19 woes behind, FMCG sector optimistic about 2021

Crisis brings opportunities. This could not have been truer for the FMCG industry in 2020 even as the world grappled with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The sector is learning, innovating and rising from disruptions to put the worst behind and looking forward to the new year with optimism and a new-found confidence.

With food, personal care items, especially hand sanitisers and disinfectants -- the hero products of the pandemic -- managing to push the industry to post positive growth amid the crisis, in 2021, the FMCG industry is looking forward to carry on with the momentum and sustained revival across categories in rural and urban markets of India.

12:16 PM

Israel begins virus inoculation drive as infections surge

Israel on Sunday began its coronavirus inoculation drive, aiming to vaccinate some 60,000 people a day in a bid to stamp out the illness that is once again surging among its population.

The country will first immunise health workers, followed by the elderly, high-risk Israelis and those over 60 years old. Israel says it has secured sufficient doses for much of the country's 9 million people from both Pfizer and Moderna, whose vaccine US authorities approved this week for emergency use.

With public opinion polls showing many Israelis are reluctant to receive shots right away, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would set a personal example and insisted on being the first Israeli vaccinated. He received the shot Saturday night.

12:02 PM

With 1,152 fresh cases, Karnataka's active coronavirus tally at 14,370

As many as 1,152 new cases of novel coronavirus were recorded in Karnataka on Saturday, pushing the tally for active cases to 14,370.

According to the state's Department of Health and Family Welfare, 9,08,275 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Tamil Nadu so far.

With 15 fatalities reported on December 19, 12,004 people have succumbed due to the lethal infection in Karnataka.

A total of 8,81,882 people have recovered from the virus with 2,147 discharges recorded on Saturday.

11:40 AM

CDC issues new guidelines for Covid-19 vaccine side-effects

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday issued new guidelines to those who have been reported severe allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine.

CDC has "learned of reports" of some people experiencing severe allergic reactions after getting inoculated. The agency defined a "severe reaction" as one where a person needs to be treated with epinephrine or requires hospitalisation, The Hill reported.

People who have a severe allergic reaction after the first dose should not get the second shot and those who have had severe allergic reactions to components in a COVID-19 vaccine should not get that specific vaccine, The Hill quoted CDC as saying.

11:39 AM

Sydney's Covid-19 cluster could see Tests between SCG and Gabba switched

A fresh Covid-19 cluster in Sydney has forced Cricket Australia to mull over the upcoming third Test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), set to begin from January 7.

Cricket Australia's officials are still hopeful of holding the third Test between India and Australia at the SCG but they have also nominated scheduling the third Test at Brisbane, and switching the fourth match of the series to Sydney, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Cricket Australia's coronavirus group is also due to meet today to discuss the impact of Sydney's virus cluster on the SCG Test, set to begin from January 7.