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.

6:53 AM

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.

6:42 AM

439 fresh Covid-19 cases, 20 deaths in Punjab; state tally rises to 162,705

Twenty more people died from coronavirus in Punjab on Saturday as 439 fresh cases pushed the state's infection count to 1,62,705, a medical bulletin said.

 

So far, 5,189 people have succumbed to the infection in Punjab. There are 5,837 active cases in the state as of now, the bulletin said.

 

Ludhiana reported 63 new cases, Mohali 60 and Hoshiarpur 51, it said.

6:21 AM

Coronavirus LIVE updates: Thailand reports 548 new coronavirus cases, highest daily spike

Thailand reported more than 500 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the country's highest daily tally.

The 548 new cases, most of them connected with an outbreak at a wholesale seafood market on the outskirts of Bangkok, come after the country saw only a small number of infections over the past several months due to strict border and quarantine controls.

Health officials said 516 of the new cases, most of them migrant workers from Myanmar, were found in connection with the outbreak at the Klang Koong shrimp market in Samut Sakhon province.

12:31 AM

Coronavirus LIVE: Karnataka Covid-19 death toll crosses 12,000-mark

With 15 patients succumbing to the Covid-19 on Friday, the death toll due to the pandemic in Karnataka has crossed the 12,000-mark and the state reported 1,152 new cases taking the total number of infections to 9,08,275, the health department said on Saturday. Bengaluru continues to be the epicentre of the virus spread, out of 1,152 fresh cases reported on Friday, 586 were from Bengaluru urban alone.

 

As on Friday midnight (December 18), cumulatively 9,08,275 Covid-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which include 12,004 deaths and 8,81,882 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin on Saturday.

 

The bulletin added that out of 14,370 active cases, 14,147 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and stable, while 223 are in ICU. The bulletin also stated that positivity rate has remained 1 per cent while Case Fatality rate at 1.30 per cent on Friday.

11:52 PM

UK cancels Christmas bubble' as new coronavirus variant accelerates

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday backtracked on a proposed five-day Christmas bubble of relaxed rules and instead imposed a new, higher level of coronavirus restrictions amid a new accelerating variant of coronavirus that is spreading fast in parts of the country. Johnson said Saturday that the capital and other areas in southern England currently under Tier 3, the highest level of coronavirus restrictions, will move to an even stricter new Tier 4.

 

Under the new Tier 4, people would be banned from mixing with anyone outside of their household, including on Christmas Day, and for the other tiers, Christmas rules allowing up to three households will now be limited to Christmas Day of December 25 only, rather than five days.

 

"It seems that the spread is now being driven by the new variant of the virus, Johnson said at a 10 Downing Street briefing on Saturday evening. "We are sacrificing the chance to see our loved ones this Christmas so we have a better chance of protecting their lives so that we can see them at future Christmases," he said, adding that he bitterly regretted having to make these changes.

11:35 PM

Bihar reports 712 new coronavirus cases, six more deaths

Bihar's COVID-19 tally mounted to 246,644 as 712 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in the state, while six fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,347, a health department bulletin said on Saturday. At least 793 people were cured of the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,40,331, it said.

 

The recovery rate currently stands at 97.44 per cent.

 

Bihar now has 4,966 active cases, the bulletin said. The state has so far tested over 1.69 crore samples including 1,21,534 in the past 24 hours. Of the fresh fatalities, four were reported from Patna and one each from Rohtas and Jehanabad. Patna reported the highest number of new cases at 288, followed by Saran (39), Muzaffarpur (30), Madhubani (25), Jehanabad (24) and Bhagalpur (22).

11:04 PM

Jharkhand reports 247 new Covid-19 cases, 234 recoveries in last 24 hours

10:37 PM

Chhattisgarh sees 1,368 coronavirus cases, 9 deaths; 129 discharged

Chhattisgarh's COVID-19 count reached 2,66,266 on Saturday after 1,368 people were detected with the infection, while the count of those who have recovered touched 2,46,054, an official said. Nine deaths recorded on Saturday, taking the toll to 3,172, he said. The official said 129 people were discharged and 1,507 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with 17,040 activecases.

 

"Raipur district reported 164 newcases, taking its total count to 50,615, including 697 deaths. Bilaspur district witnessed 123 newcases, Durg 120, Raigarh 105 and Janjgir- Champa 95. Of the nine deaths, three took place on Saturday, four on Friday and two earlier," he added.

 

Chhattisgarh's coronavirus figures are as follows: Positivecases2,66,266, Newcases1,368, Deaths 3,172, Recovered 2,46,054, Activecases17,040, tests so far 31,82,119.

10:22 PM

Coronavirus latest update: 20 deaths, 439 fresh virus cases in Punjab

Twenty more people died from coronavirus in Punjab on Saturday as 439 fresh cases pushed the state's infection count to 1,62,705, a medical bulletin said. So far, 5,189 people have succumbed to the infection in Punjab. There are 5,837 active cases in the state as of now, the bulletin said.

 

Ludhiana reported 63 new cases, Mohali 60 and Hoshiarpur 51. A total of 560 coronavirus patients were discharged after recovering from the infection, taking the number of cured persons to 1,51,679, the bulletin said. Twelve critical patients are on ventilator while 93 are on oxygen support. A total of 36,59,116 samples have been collected for testing so far in the state.

10:11 PM

Tamil Nadu reports 1,127 new corona cases, 1,202 discharges, and 14 deaths in last 24 hours

Tamil Nadu reports 1,127 new corona cases, 1,202 discharges, and 14 deaths in last 24 hours

10:07 PM

Planned relaxation of coronavirus rules at Christmas restricted to just one day: UK PM

UK PM Boris Johnson says planned relaxation of coronavirus rules at Christmas will be restricted to just one day in England, and in large parts of South East it will be scrapped entirely, reports BBC.

9:42 PM

Coronavirus LIVE updates: India crosses 10 million-mark in Covid-19 cases

9:39 PM

China says it has already given 1 mn Covid-19 vaccine shots, planning more

China said it has already administered more than 1 million coronavirus vaccines since July and plans a phased rollout going forward that will initially target workers at higher risk of infection, as the country seeks to be at the vanguard of the global Covid-19 immunization effort.

 

Vaccines developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and the state-owned China National Biotec Group Co. have been dispensed in the country since they were granted emergency-use authorization in July.

China is now planning wider distribution of the experimental shots with those working in hospitals, customs and cold-chain logistics as well as vulnerable groups, including people with pre-existing medical conditions, to receive them first. A later phase of the rollout will involve the general public, Zeng Yixin, vice minister at China’s National Health Commission, told reporters in Beijing Saturday. READ MORE...

9:21 PM

Ahmedabad sees 220 Covid-19 cases, four deaths; 216 discharged

Ahmedabad's COVID-19 tally rose by 220 on Saturday, the highest for any district in Gujarat, to reach 55,370, while four patients died and 216 people were discharged during the day, an official said. The toll in the district is 2,205, while 50,157 people have recovered so far, he said.

 

"Ahmedabad city accounted for 211 of the new cases and 205 of the recoveries. The city's west and north-west zones account for 424 active cases, followed by the south-west zone with 418. The number of micro containment areas stand at 27," a civic official said.

 

The bed occupancy rate in private COVID-19 designated hospitals in the city dropped to a little over 28 per cent with 975 out of 3,428 beds in 105 hospitals occupied, the Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association said.

8:48 PM

Delhi records 1,139 new Covid-19 cases, lowest since Aug 24; positivity rate 1.3%

The national recorded 1,139 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the lowest in nearly four months, as the positivity rate slipped further to 1.3 per cent, authorities said. The death toll mounted to 10,251 with 32 new fatalities, they said. This is the fifth consecutive day when the positivity rate has remained below 2 per cent. It stood at 1.6 per cent and 1.51 per cent on Friday and Thursday respectively.

 

These new cases came out 87,330 tests conducted the previous day, including 47,460 RT-PCR tests and 39,870 rapid antigen tests,according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.

 

On August 24, Delhi had recorded 1,061 new cases. On December 15 and 16, the positivity rate were 1.9 per cent and 1.96 per cent respectively. The positivity rate from December 3-7 had successively dipped to 4.96 per cent, 4.78 per cent, 4.2 per cent, 3.68 per cent and 3.15 per cent respectively.