Coronavirus LIVE: Andhra Pradesh's Covid-19 tally nears 800,000-mark

Coronavirus update: Maharashtra has 16,25,197 coronavirus cases, Andhra Pradesh 793,299, Karnataka 782,773, Tamil Nadu 7,00,193 and UP 461,475. Stay tuned for coronavirus India LIVE updates

Coronavirus update: India on Wednesday recorded 55,839 cases, taking the tally to 7,706,946. Death toll rose to 116,653. India recorded a test positivity rate of 4.99 per cent, a massive decline from the rate of almost 8 per cent at the start of September. India had recorded a test positivity rate of over 6 per cent throughout last month.

Coronavirus vaccine update: Vaccination of Russians against coronavirus was the top priority and more important than export of vaccines, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

World coronavirus update: The global tally of coronavirus cases stands at 41,500,769. While 30,901,565 have recovered, 1,135,657 have died so far. The US, the worst-hit country, has 8,582,588 cases. It is followed by India, which has 7,706,946 cases, Brazil (5,300,649) and Russia (1,447,335).

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

1:50 AM

AstraZeneca's volunteer who died didn't get Covid-19 vaccine

A participant who died during a trial of AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine in Brazil hadn’t received the company’s shot, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The person asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

Brazil’s health authority Anvisa said it had been informed on Monday of the study volunteer’s death and had received a partial report from an international committee assessing the trial’s safety. That committee suggested the trial should continue, Anvisa said in a statement.

11:27 PM

Guterres reiterates call on UN Day for global ceasefire to fight Covid-19 together

11:27 PM

Chhattisgarh records 2,491 new Covid-19 cases, 52 deaths

With 2,491 new Covid-19 cases and 52 more deaths, Chhattisgarhs total count rose to 1,70,130 and the toll to 1,680 on Thursday, a health official said.

The number of people who have recovered increased to 1,43,212 after 352 people were discharged from various hospitals while 2,370 patients completed their home isolation during the day, he said.

The state now has 25,238 active cases, the official informed.

11:21 PM

Resources to be in place for effective Covid-19 vaccination: NITI VC

Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Thursday expressed confidence that money and resources will be in place for a viable and effective vaccination system to fight Covid-19, even as he said it is quite premature to talk about the cost for getting the vaccination.

10:01 PM

Europeans face more curfews, restrictions, as virus surges

Italy's three largest cities face new curfews as regional authorities try to slow the spread of Covid-19 where it first struck hard in Europe, most of whose countries are now imposing, or mulling, new restrictions to cope with rapidly rising caseloads.

A midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew in Lazio, which includes Rome, begins on Friday and lasts for 30 days, under an order signed by regional governor Nicola Zingaretti who himself was seriously sickened with Covid-19 in the first weeks of the pandemic.

The governor of Campania, the southern region which includes densely populated Naples, on Thursday ordered residents to stay at home from 11 p.m. to shortly before dawn starting the next day. A similar curfew in Lombardy, where infections are particularly surging in its main city, Milan, will go into effect Thursday night.

10:00 PM

Rajasthan sees 1,822 fresh coronavirus cases, 12 deaths

Rajasthan reported 1,822 fresh Covid-19 cases and 12 deaths due to the disease on Thursday, taking the infection tally to 180,755.

The coronavirus death toll stands at 1,800 in the state, an official report said here.

Out of the latest fatalities, two deaths were reported from Jaipur, while one death each was reported from Ajmer, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Chittorgarh, Churu, Ganganagar, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Sikar and Udaipur, it said.

9:47 PM

12 more coronavirus deaths, 617 new cases reported in Punjab

9:16 PM

Mumbai's Covid-19 tally rises to 247,334 with 1,463 new cases; 49 deaths take toll to 9,918

9:15 PM

Highest single-day spike of 4,157 fresh cases takes West Bengal's Covid-19 tally to 337,283

8:58 PM

Andhra Pradesh govt starts 10-day coronavirus awareness drive

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy directed officials to focus on the 10-day special drive to create awareness about the precautions against Coronavirus.

The Andhra Pradesh government has started a 10-day coronavirus awareness program to make people more aware of the importance of social distancing and other precautions that should be taken in order to keep themselves and society safe from coronavirus.

The district administration officers and volunteers on the field imparting the ways of precautions, which can be taken at home for the next 10 days which will last till October 31, 2020.

8:49 PM

Covid-19 LIVE update: 1,136 new coronavirus cases in Gujarat; state tally 164,121

The coronavirus infection tally in Gujarat mounted to 164,121 on Thursday after 1,136 people tested positive, the state health department said. The death toll due to the virus went up to 3,670 as seven more persons succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours, it said in a release. A total of 1,201 patients also recovered during this period, the department said.

Gujarat's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 1,64,121, new cases 1,136, death toll 3,670, discharged 1,46,308, active cases 14,143 and people tested so far 55,85,445.

8:36 PM

Coronavirus pandemic LIVE: Tamil Nadu Covid-19 tally breaches 700,000-mark

Tamil Nadu on Thursday became the fourth state in the country to cross seven lakh coronavirus cases with 3,077 new infections while the death toll touched 10,825 with 45 more fatalities. While the tally of positive cases stood at 7,00,193, the state capital accounted for 1,93,299, a bulletin said.

Reflecting the declining trend, it has taken 21 days for the state to register the last one lakh cases as against the 17 days it took to climb from five lakh to six lakh cases. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are the other three states with a caseload of over seven lakh.

8:31 PM