Coronavirus LIVE: India's cumulative Covid-19 tests inch closer to 150 mn

Coronavirus live update: At 1,859,367, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 895,284, Andhra Pradesh 872,839, Tamil Nadu 792,788, and Kerala 644,696

6:54 PM

Covaxin will be available in the first quarter of next year: Bharat Biotech

6:37 PM

Lack of adequate cold chain biggest challenge in Covid-19 vaccine distribution: Report

Despite having one of the largest universal immunization programmes (UIPs), lack of cold chain may prove to be one of the biggest challenges for India in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, a foreign brokerage said on Wednesday. The cold chain market with 37 million tonne capacity is very fragmented in India, and the country does not have a single cold chain operator with a capacity of over 5,000 tonne, analysts at Bofa Securities said adding very few of the 3,500 companies are 'pharma-compliant' as per WHO norms.

 

"India's struggle with cold chain for COVID-19 vaccine stems from the fact that despite one of the large cold chain capacities in the world, there are not many large participants, they said.

 

It can be noted that India runs the widely successful polio immunization programme, where the vaccine is transported in temperatures ranging from 2-8 degrees Celsius and there is a dedicated cold chain, which is likely to be repurposed for the COVID-19 vaccine. However, the brokerage said the quantum of work is 16 times more than the 600 million doses under the UIP. The brokerage estimated the cost of transporting a single vaccine at around Rs 600 and assuming that up to 400 million Indians are to be vaccinated, the overall logistics market comes at Rs 21,000 crore.

6:28 PM

If 50% ICU beds for Covid-19 patients vacant, need immediate review of order: HC to Delhi govt

The Delhi High Court said on Wednesday that if around 50 per cent of the ICU beds reserved in private hospitals for COVID-19 patients are lying vacant, the decision to retain 80 per cent of ICU beds for coronavirus patients needs to be reviewed immediately.

 

The high court's remark came on being apprised by the counsel for a private hospitals' association that out of 5,081 ICU beds reserved for COVID-19 patients, 2,360 were vacant as on Tuesday and that there was no justification of continuation of the Delhi government's September 12 order.

 

Justice Navin Chawla asked the Delhi government to consider the submissions by petitioner 'Association of Healthcare Providers' and file its response before the next date on December 15.

6:16 PM

Delhi reports 2,463 new Covid-19 cases and 50 deaths today

5:58 PM

Despite Covid-19 lockdowns, world heads to temperature rise: UN report

A green pandemic recovery could cut upto 25 per cent off predicted 2030 greenhouse gas emissions and bring the world closer to meeting the two degree celsius goal of the Paris Agreement on climate change, said a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Wednesday. The UNEP's annual Emissions Gap Report 2020 reveals that despite a dip in the 2020 carbon dioxide emissions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is still heading for a temperature rise in excess of three degree celsius this century.

 

However, if governments invest in climate action as part of pandemic recovery and solidify emerging net-zero commitments with strengthened pledges at the next climate meeting -- taking place at Glasgow in November 2021 -- they could bring emissions to levels broadly consistent with the two degrees celsius goal.

 

By combining a green pandemic recovery with swift moves to include new net-zero commitments in the updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, and following up with rapid and robust action, governments could still attain the more ambitious 1.5 degrees goal.

5:26 PM

BMC setting up new Covid-19 vaccine storage facility in Mumbai

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is setting up a new COVID-19 vaccine storage facility at one its buildings in Kanjurmarg area here, officials said on Wednesday. The new vaccine storage facility will be in addition to the existing cold storage facilities at four civic-run hospitals in the city, BMC's additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani told PTI.

 

The BMC has identified its own five-storey building at Kanjurmarg in the eastern suburbs for the new COVID-19 vaccine storage facility, which will be set up on its first floor, another civic official said. Currently, the Sion Hospital, Nair Hospital, KEM Hospital and Cooper Hospital here have vaccine storage facilities, he said.

 

These hospitals have a limited vaccine storage capacity, which is sufficient for the ongoing vaccination programmes but inadequate for the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccination, Kakani said. The civic body aims to make the facility at Kanjurmarg ready before this year-end and is initiating the process of procurement of coolers and freezers for the storage of COVID-19 vaccines at low temperatures.

4:49 PM

Foreign envoys take a tour of Biological E limited facility in Hyderabad

4:38 PM

DCGI should get enough data before any vaccine approval: Gagandeep Kang

Even as leading pharmaceutical companies are seeking authorisation to roll out their coronavirus vaccines in India, the regulator should not give its approval without first obtaining enough data, suggests Gagandeep Kang, a professor at the Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory of Christian Medical College, Vellore, and one of India's leading medical scientists. “Pfizer has done no trials in India, and Serum has not completed its immunogenicity study,” she says in an emailed interview. READ HERE...

4:35 PM

India has manufacturing capacity to produce sufficient quantities of Covid-19 vaccine: Australian Ambassador to India

4:02 PM

Over 60 foreign envoys visit leading pharma companies in Hyderabad

Over 60 foreign envoys on Wednesday visited Hyderabad-based leading biotech companies Bharat Biotech and Biological E where they were apprised of India's vaccine development programmes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

"In a first, a visit of more than 60 Heads of Missions was arranged to the research and manufacturing facilities of the leading biotechnology companies, Bharat Biotech and Biological E, in Hyderabad," Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava tweeted.

 

Dr Krishna Ella, chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech International Ltd, made a presentation to the foreign heads of missions on various aspects of vaccine production in India, sources said.

 

In the presentation, the envoys were conveyed that 33 per cent of global vaccines are produced in genome valley in Hyderabad, they said. The foreign envoys were taken to Hyderabad over a month after the Ministry of External Affairs briefed over 190 heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of leading international organisations on COVID-19 related issues.

3:46 PM

Odisha reports 386 fresh coronavirus cases, five fatalities

Odisha's COVID-19 caseload climbed to 3,22,299 on Wednesday after 386 people tested positive for the virus, while five fresh fatalities pushed the coastal state's coronavirus death toll to 1,789. The fresh cases were detected from 28 of the 30 districts. Khurda district, comprising state capital Bhubaneswar, reported the highest of 50 single-day cases followed by Sundergarh (47) and Mayurbhanj (31).

 

Koraput and Nabarangpur districts did not register any new infection during the last 24 hours. A total of 53 other COVID-19 patients have so far died due to comorbidities.

 

Khurda district alone has accounted for 306 deaths thus far, followed by Ganjam (245), Sundergarh (151), Cuttack (137) and Puri (110). Twenty-five other districts reported below-100 fatalities. Odisha now has 3,487 active cases, while as many as 3,16,970 patients have recovered from the disease. It has tested over 62.50 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 36,419 on Tuesday. The positivity rate is 5.16 per cent, as per data released by the department.

3:21 PM

SC seeks detailed affidavits from Centre, States on steps to ensure masks, social distancing

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered State governments and Centre to file detailed affidavits on the steps taken by them with regard to guidelines on wearing of masks and ensuring social distancing by the public. A bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, also directed the Centre and State governments to file detailed affidavits on fire safety in hospitals after incidents of fire in COVID-19 dedicated hospitals.

 

The Centre and State governments were asked to file detailed affidavits on steps taken by them with regard to the top court's December 3 order where it noted that guidelines related to wearing masks and maintaining social distancing were not being followed in almost all of the States and had sought their suggestions over the same.

 

The bench sought their affidavits by Friday and posted the matter for further hearing on December 14. It was hearing a suo motu case pertaining to the management of COVID-19 crisis and mishandling of corpses.

 

The bench also expressed displeasure at the repeated constitution of the committee to probe Rajkot fire incident at a private COVID-19 hospital in which many people lost their lives. It sought an inquiry report from the Gujarat government by Friday, asking all other states to also file reports on fire incidents.

3:08 PM

Retired HC Justice Karnan tests Covid-19 positive

Retired High Court Judge C.S. Karnan has tested positive for coronavirus and his condition is stable, said a top official of Stanley Medical College. Karnan was arrested by the police and is in jail in connection with his social media offensive videos/posts with objectionable comments and threats of sexual violence against judiciary officials and their family members. After he felt unwell, he was taken to the hospital by the jail authorities.

 

"He came to the hospital on Tuesday evening for tiredness. When a CT scan was taken we found some changes in his lung. Then RT-PCR test was done and the result came positive on Wednesday early morning," P. Balaji, Dean, Stanley Medical College told IANS.

 

"Karnan's condition is stable now. A week before when he was brought here, he had tested negative for coronavirus," Balaji added.

 

2:43 PM

402 Covid-19 case fatalities reported in the past 24 hours: Health Ministry

2:31 PM

Coronavirus LIVE: India's cumulative Covid-19 tests inch closer to 15 crore

An average of more than 10 lakh tests conducted daily for detection of COVID-19 has ensured that the cumulative positivity rate is sustained at low levels and is following a downward trajectory, asIndia'scumulative tests near 15 crore, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. The cumulative COVID-19 national positivity rate stands at 6.50 per cent as on date.The daily positivity rate is just 3.14 per cent. Higher volumes of testing eventually lead to low positivity rate, the ministry said.

 

Nineteen states and UTs have a weekly positivity rate more than the national average.

 

The ongoing trend of contraction of India's total active cases continues. The active caseload of the country stands at 3,78,909 which comprises3.89 per cent of the total infections reported so far. The daily recoveries exceeding the daily new cases have ensured a total net reduction of the active caseload. A net decline of 4,957 cases has been recorded in the total active caseload in a span of 24 hours.