Coronavirus LIVE: 6,185 new Covid-19 cases in Kerala in past 24 hours

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,886,807, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 903,425, Andhra Pradesh 876,336, Tamil Nadu 801,161, and Kerala 677,255

A health worker in a PPE kit collects swab samples from a man to conduct tests for the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at New Delhi Railway Station in New Delhi on Tuesday.

5:26 PM

Delhi aggressively tackling Covid-19; positivity rate lowest since May

Delhi is "aggressively tackling" the COVID-19 situation and not only has the positivity rate dipped to below two per cent, it is also the lowest figure since May, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday. Interacting with reporters, he also said that the severity of the pandemic has come down, but people still need to be vigilant and observe all safety norms.

"The positivity rate recorded yesterday (Tuesday) stood at 1.9 per cent. I think it is the lowest figure till date, though I will need to look into data to tell exactly. But, for sure, it is the lowest positivity rate since May. This indicates an improved COVID-19 situation in Delhi," he said.

Delhi recorded 1,617 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with over 85,000 tests conducted. The death toll mounted to 10,115 with 41 new fatalities. The positivity rate on 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.

5:15 PM

Adverse event can take place after any immunisation: Principal investigator for Covaxin trials at AIIMS

4:55 PM

Coronavirus detected on imported frozen food in China

An imported frozen food sample in the city of Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province, tested positive for the novel coronavirus, local authorities said Tuesday.

The sample was taken from a batch of frozen sliced pig ears imported from the United States as part of a regular screening before the entry of any imported frozen food into the city's cold storage warehouse, according to the city's epidemic prevention and control office.

None of the goods have been distributed into the local market. Local authorities have sealed and disinfected the food and quarantined those who had contact with the tainted items, the Xinhua news agency reported.

4:34 PM

Poverty linked to higher risk of Covid-19 death: Study

Researchers have now claimed that people in poorest areas are more likely to be affected by severe Covid-19 -- and to die from the disease -- than those in more affluent districts. The study, published in the journal Lancet Regional Health - Europe, found patients from the most economically disadvantaged areas had a higher chance of critical care admission, and that intensive care units there were more likely to be over capacity.

"The study highlights the need for extra support to be given to critical care units in poorer areas, and for more to be done to tackle health inequalities," said the study authors from Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow in the UK.

The research team gauged how living in an area of socioeconomic poverty - measured by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation - was linked to severe Covid-19 using anonymous health records. They also accessed hospital data to assess the impact of the pandemic on critical care units at all of Scotland's hospitals. They found that 735 patients with Covid-19 were admitted to critical care units across Scotland between March and June 2020.

3:58 PM

Traffic fines in Gurugram see 55% dip due to Covid-19

Gurugram district has seen a nearly 55 per cent dip in traffic fines as compared to the previous year due to the Covid-19 impact.

The Gurugram Traffic police have issued 2,16,199 challans for no-entry, drunken driving, jumping the red light, wrong side parking, lane change, wrong parking and driving without helmet till December 14 this year. In view of the Covid-19 infections this year, the Gurugram Traffic police have issued only 447 challans for drunken driving as compared to 4,067 during 2019.

"The reason behind the heavy drop in traffic fines was due to the lockdown and Covid-19 infections. The government had imposed a complete lockdown amid coronavirus. We have stopped the campaign against 'drinking and driving' due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in Gurugram. Amid the infection, the Traffic police is avoiding the use of alcohol breath analyser machine as it helps in spreading the infections," said D.K. Bhardwaj, DCP (Traffic).

3:25 PM

India recorded less than 40,000 daily new cases since the last 17 days: Health Ministry

2:49 PM

Quarter of world may not have access to coronavirus vaccine until 2022: Study

Coronavirus vaccinations may not reach a quarter of the world's population until 2022, according to researchers who reported on Tuesday.

According to CNN, half of all planned doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been bought up by high-income countries such as the US, Japan, and Australia. Citing a report by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, it reported that these "rich countries" have pre-ordered close to 7.5 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines, enough to vaccinate 3.76 billion people.

"Just over half (51 per cent) of these doses will go to high-income countries, which represent 14 percent of the world's population," they wrote in their report, published in the BMJ as quoted by CNN.

The US accounted for one-fifth of all global Covid-19 cases but had reserved 800 million doses of vaccine. Japan, Australia, and accounted for fewer than 1 percent of cases but had options on 1 billion doses, at the time when this report was written.

2:07 PM

EPFO settles 52 lakh Covid-19 claims, disburses Rs 13,300 crore: Govt

Retirement fund body EPFO has settled 52 lakh COVID-19 non-refundable advance claims, and disbursed Rs 13,300 crore so far, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said on Wednesday. In March, the government had allowed over 6 crore subscribes of EPFO to withdraw an amount not exceeding their three months basic pay and dearness allowance from their EPF account in view of the lockdown to fight the pandemic.

Speaking at Assocham Foundation Week programme, Gangwar said EPFO has settled 52 lakh COVID-19 withdrawal claims and disbursed Rs 13,300 crore to subscribers during the pandemic.

He noted that the country has faced the pandemic with brave face.

The Centre had launched the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) on March 26 to help the economically weaker sections cope with the pandemic.

1:47 PM

Covid-19 infection does not damage auditory system: Study

After some reports linked Covid-19 with hearing loss, a new study has found no evidence of damage to the auditory system as a result of coronavirus infection.

"The possibility of hearing loss has been debated among medical practitioners, with some reporting this symptom in recovered patients," said study author Karen Avraham from Tel Aviv University in Israel.

"The question is whether such hearing loss is caused by damage to the auditory system, or whether it is a temporary symptom caused by fluids clogging the middle ear, as often happens with a common cold," Avraham added.

For the study, published in the journal Otology and Neurotology, the research team began to investigate this question during the first wave of the pandemic, when the numbers of patients in Israel were still relatively small. Participants included eight asymptomatic individuals who had tested positive for Covid-19 and eight healthy volunteers who served as a control group, none of whom reported any previous hearing loss. The study provided for the first time quantitative measures for hearing quality following exposure to the virus.

1:26 PM

Donald Trump 'absolutely open' to taking Covid-19 vaccine: White House

US President Donald Trump is "absolutely open" to taking the coronavirus vaccine but his priority is frontline workers and the most vulnerable, the White House has said.

The US on Friday allowed the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccine developed by American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech with a critical care nurse in New York receiving the first jab. Read on...

11:07 AM

The outbreak magnitude seems to be less now: Satyender Jain on coronavirus third wave in Delhi

Yesterday for the first time the positivity rate has been below 2%, since the month of May. I would still appeal to the people to wear masks. I can't say that the 3rd wave of Covid-19 is over but the outbreak magnitude seems to be less now: Satyender Jain, Delhi Health Minister

10:50 AM

Coronavirus mutation: Is the fear justified, and where does it come from?

A new strain of the coronavirus may be responsible for the faster spread of the virus in London and south-east England, it has been announced. Unconfirmed reports suggest that coronavirus variant is called N501Y. This particular strain has been increasing in frequency since August.

The idea of a mutating virus, breaking out into new strains, is enough to scare most people. But are these fears justified, and where do they come from? Read on...

10:22 AM

What vaccine distribution planners can learn from Amazon and Walmart model

The initial rollout of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has begun, and vaccines are shipping across the U. S. Demand for Covid-19 vaccines will outpace supply for the foreseeable future. Yet experts have warned that a substantial proportion of these highly perishable vaccines could go to waste if they are not being used before they expire.

With such short supplies and high demand, worrying about waste may sound paradoxical, but is actually a predictable result of two well-known medical distribution challenges: complicated storage requirements and variability in demand. Read on...

9:42 AM

Europe to get Covid vaccine before new year, nod likely in Christmas week

Europeans are set to start getting coronavirus vaccines before the new year after the regional drug regulator accelerated its approval process following the launch of immunisation campaigns in the United States and Britain.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said an expert panel would convene on Monday Dec. 21 to evaluate the vaccine made by U.S. company Pfizer and German partner BioNTech. It had previously said the meeting could be as late as Dec 29. Read on...

9:25 AM