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.

12:06 PM

Argentina extends Covid-19 preventive measures till Jan 31

Argentina has decided to extend what it calls the 'Social, Preventive and Obligatory Distancing' regulations to control the spread of the novel coronavirus until January 31, 2021, President Alberto Fernandez announced.

At a ceremony on Friday honouring healthcare community workers in the town of Moreno, 40 km west of the capital Buenos Aires, Fernandez called on citizens to take extreme precautionary measures, especially during Christmas and New Year celebrations, reports Xinhua news agency.

"All the precautions we took, we must now reinforce," he said.

"We will shortly begin to vaccinate essential workers, they are those who are most exposed and those who need it most, those who work in healthcare and security forces," the President added.

Argentina has so far reported 1,524,372 confirmed coronavirus cases and 41,534 deaths.

12:05 PM

Stroke, altered mental state increase death risk for Covid-19 patients: Study

People hospitalised with COVID-19 and neurological problems including stroke and confusion, have a higher risk of dying than other patients infected with the novel coronavirus, according to a new study.

The research, published in the journal Neurology -- the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology -- assessed data from 4,711 COVID-19 patients who were admitted to the Montefiore Medical Center in the US during the six-week period between March 1, 2020 and April 16, 2020.

According to the scientists, including those from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the US, 581 of the 4,711 patients had neurological problems serious enough to warrant brain imaging.

They compared these individuals with 1,743 non-neurological COVID-19 patients of similar age and disease severity who were admitted during the same period.

"This study is the first to show that the presence of neurological symptoms, particularly stroke and confused or altered thinking, may indicate a more serious course of illness, even when pulmonary problems aren't severe," said David Altschul, a co-author of the study from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

"Hospitals can use this knowledge to prioritise treatment and, hopefully, save more lives during this pandemic," Altschul said.

The researchers believe the findings have the potential to identify and focus treatment efforts on individuals most at risk, and could decrease COVID-19 deaths.

12:04 PM

Puducherry logs 45 new cases of COVID-19, one death

Puducherry registered 45 fresh cases of coronavirus on Saturday, pushing the total caseload to 37,715, a top government official said.

One more person succumbed to the deadly virus in the last 24 hours and the patient aged 73-year-old had co morbidities such as diabetes, hyper tension and chronic kidney disease.

The toll rose to 624 with another death, Director of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, S Mohan Kumar said.

Twenty one patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals during last 24 hours, he said.

The 45 new cases were spread over Puducherry 20, Karaikal 7 and Mahe 18.

Yanam did not report any fresh cases today, he said.

The fatality and recovery rates were 1.65 percent and 97.45 percent respectively.

Of the total 4.5 lakh samples tested so far 4.08 lakh samples turned out to be negative.

Of the total 37,715 COVID 19 cases, 339 were active while 36,752 patients recovered and were discharged so far, the Director said.

12:02 PM

Ladakh records one more Covid-19 death, nine new cases

Ladakh has recorded one more coronavirus-related death and nine fresh cases, taking the infection tally to 9,252 and death toll to 124, officials said on Saturday.

With this death, the fatality figure in Leh district reached 81, while rest of the 43 COVID-related deaths had taken place in Kargil district since the outbreak of the disease in March.

The officials said 32 COVID patients were discharged after successful treatment, taking the number of recovered patients to 8,654, which is 94 per cent of the total cases in the Union Territory, while the active number of cases dropped to 474 -- 381 in Leh and 93 in Kargil.

11:51 AM

Italy imposes partial lockdown for Christmas, New Year

Italians will have to spend much of the Christmas and New Year holiday in a nationwide "red zone", which has been imposed in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced in a televised address to the nation.

On Friday, Italy reported 17,992 new coronavirus cases and 674 deaths, which increased the overall infection tally and the death toll to 1,921,778 and 67,894, respectively, Xinhua news agency reported.

Friday's figures were down from the previous day's 18,236 new cases and 683 deaths on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Healthy.

"The situation remains difficult, in Italy and in Europe," Conte said in his speech on Friday.

"The virus continues to circulate everywhere."

He added that the whole of Italy will become a designated "red" or high-risk zone from December 24 to January 6.

The Italian government had, in early November, introduced a three-tier system and split the country into three zones -- red for the highest risk, orange for medium risk, and yellow for low risk -- according to the level of virus transmission and the situation of the public health system.

The "red zones" are subjected to restrictions equal to a partial lockdown.

People living in red zones can't leave the house except for provable work or health-related reasons and are banned from travelling in or out of their regions and municipalities.

11:42 AM

South Korea reports 1,053 more Covid-19 cases, 48,570 in total

South Korea reported 1,053 more cases of Covid-19 as of midnight Friday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 48,570.

 

The daily caseload stayed above 1,000 for four straight days, hovering above 100 for 42 days since Nov. 8 due to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.

 

For the past week, the daily average number of infections was 976.4.

11:33 AM

Sweden announces new anti-coronavirus measures

The Swedish government has announced tough new anti-coronavirus rules, including face-mask recommendations, alcohol sale restrictions and a limit on the number of people allowed in restaurants, shops and gyms.

 

"I hope and believe that everyone in Sweden understands how serious the situation is," Xinhua news agency quoted Prime Minister Stefan Lofven as saying at a news conference on Friday, as the country's death toll approached 8,000.

 

The government and the Public Health Agency unveiled the new restrictions and rules at the news conference, including an official recommendation for the use of face masks on public transport at times when crowding cannot be avoided.

 

This is the first time Sweden has recommended the use of face masks.

11:24 AM

Goa tourism suffered loss of Rs 2,000-7,200 cr due to coronavirus: Report

Goa's tourism industry may have suffered a loss of between Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 7,200 crore and job losses in the range of 35 per cent to 58 per cent on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, an official report said.

 

The report 'Coping with COVID-19: Survival and Revival of Goa's Tourism Industry' compiled by the Goa Tourism Ministry and consultancy firm KPMG Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd, also said that the state tourism industry directly contributes 16.43 per cent revenue towards the state Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and approximately 35 per cent of state's population is directly employed by the tourism sector. Read on...

9:35 AM

Spain to start vaccinations against Covid-19 on Dec 27: Health minister

Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Friday that vaccinations against COVID-19 will begin in Spain on December 27.

 

The first vaccinations will be using the BioNTech Pfizer vaccine, with the first doses arriving in Spain on December 26.

 

"If Europe has agreed that vaccination begins in a coordinated manner, in Spain we are going to start the first possible day," Illa said at a press conference. Read on...

9:32 AM

Coronavirus India update: Summary of MoHFW data (December 19)

Active cases: 308,751 (Net addition: 5,080)

Deaths: 145,136 (Net addition: 347)

Cured: 9,550,712 (Net addition: 29,885)

Total cases: 10,004,599 (Net addition: 25,152)

9:30 AM

Coronavirus: Punjab records 20 more deaths, 444 fresh cases

The death toll due to Covid-19 in Punjab climbed to 5,170 on Friday as 20 more people succumbed to the disease, while the caseload surged to 1,62,270 with 444 fresh infections, according to a medical bulletin.

 

Five deaths were reported from Jalandhar, four each from Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur, three from Mohali, two from Rupnagar and one each from Bathinda and Patiala, the bulletin said.

 

There are 5,981 active Covid-19 cases in the state, it said.

9:29 AM

COVAX gains access to 2 billion doses of vaccines for 190 member economies

The global COVAX alliance which aims to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines for low income countries said on Friday that it had arrangements in place to access nearly two billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine candidates, on behalf of 190 participating economies.

 

COVAX, also known as the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, is a global collaboration for speeding up the development, manufacture and equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines. It is led by Gavi - global vaccine alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the WHO. Read on...

9:28 AM

642 new coronavirus cases in Mumbai, nine deaths

Mumbai reported 642 new coronavirus cases and nine deaths on Friday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

 

The caseload in the city thus rose to 2,85,632, while the death toll reached 10,970.

 

The death toll was revised as some duplicated cases were removed, a BMC official said.

9:27 AM

Serum Institute to seek nod for two full-dose regimen of Covishield

Serum Institute of India will seek approval for a two full-dose regimen from the Indian drug regulator after its partner, Oxford University, cited data from early trials and said following such a regimen showed a better immune response.

 

After phase 3 trials, Oxford, which is developing the Covid-19 vaccine Covishield with AstraZeneca, had said a full dose followed by a half-dose regimen showed 90 per cent efficacy, while a full two-dose regimen showed 62 per cent efficacy. However, it had said more work needed to be done to affirm that result. Read on...

9:16 AM

Domestic air traffic growth slows on Maharashtra Covid-19 test caveat

Domestic air traffic growth slowed down to 21 per cent on a sequential basis in November after growing by 30-40 per cent in the three previous months.

 

Domestic airlines flew 6.3 million passengers in November compared to 5.2 million a month earlier. Last November, airlines had carried 12.9 million passengers. Read on...