Coronavirus LIVE: Kerala reports 6,316 fresh Covid-19 positive cases

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,828,826, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 886,227, Andhra Pradesh 868,000, Tamil Nadu 783,319 and Kerala 608,357

2:16 PM

Active Covid-19 caseload in India drops to 4.28 lakh after 132 days

India's COVID-19 active caseload has significantly dropped to 4.28 lakh, the lowest after 132 days and comprises just4.51 per centof the total coronavirus infections, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. The total active cases were 4,26,167 on July 23. There has been a sustained decrease in the number of active cases, the ministry said. The daily new cases added to the country's COVID numbers have been around 30,000 since the past three days.

 

The number of daily new cases in a span of 24 hours is 36,604.

 

A total of 43,062 recoveries were registered in a span of 24 hours. The number of daily recovered cases has surpassed the daily new cases since the past five days, the ministry highlighted. The difference in new recoveries outnumbering new cases has also improved the recovery rate to 94.03 per cent as on date, it stated. The total recovered cases stand at 89,32,647.

1:57 PM

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar inaugurates Phase 3 of Covaxin

12:50 PM

UK approves Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine for mass roll out, reports BBC

The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use.

 

British regulator, the MHRA, says the jab, which offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness, is safe for roll out.

 

Immunisations could start within days for people in high priority groups.

 

The UK has already ordered 40m doses - enough to vaccinate 20m people, with two shots each.

12:39 PM

Delhi coronavirus situation: Positivity rate has declined below 7%

Positivity rate has declined below 7%. It is expected to go below 5% in the next few days. Currently, more than 1,600 ICU beds are available in hospitals in Delhi: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Covid-19 situation

 

12:17 PM

Alcohol-free hand sanitiser just as effective against coronavirus as alcohol-based versions

A new study from researchers at Brigham Young University finds that alcohol-free hand sanitiser is just as effective at disinfecting surfaces from the COVID-19 virus as alcohol-based products.

 

The BYU scientists who conducted the study suspected that the CDC's preference for alcohol sanitizer stemmed from as-yet limited research on what really works to disinfect SARS-CoV-2.

 

To explore other options, they treated samples of the novel coronavirus with benzalkonium chloride, which is commonly used in alcohol-free hand sanitisers, and several other quaternary ammonium compounds regularly found in disinfectants.

 

In most of the test cases, the compounds wiped out at least 99.9 per cent of the virus within 15 seconds.

 

"Our results indicate that alcohol-free hand sanitiser works just as well, so we could, maybe even should, be using it to control COVID," said lead study author Benjamin Ogilvie.

 

Alcohol-free hand sanitisers, which are also effective against the common cold and flu viruses, have a number of advantages over their alcohol-based counterparts, Ogilvie explained.

12:02 PM

Covid-19 cases in India: Five states with most number of deaths

Maharashtra (47,246)

Karnataka (11,792)

Tamil Nadu (11,722)

Delhi (9,260)

West Bengal (8,476)

12:00 PM

Novel coronavirus infections may have been present in US as early as December: Study

The novel coronavirus may have been introduced into the US as early as December 13 to 16, 2019, suggests a study which assessed archived samples from routine blood donations collected by the American Red Cross.

 

While the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the US was identified on January 19, 2020, the scientists, including Sridhar V Basavaraju from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US, noted that antibodies reactive against the coronavirus were detected in 106 of the 7,389 specimens.

 

According to the research, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, 84 of the samples specifically had neutralising activity against the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which enables it to enter host cells.

 

"The presence of these serum antibodies indicate that isolated SARS-CoV-2 infections may have occurred in the western portion of the US earlier than previously recognised, or that a small portion of the population may have pre-existing antibodies that bind SARS-CoV-2," the researchers wrote in the study.

11:43 AM

Russia's permanent mission, Health Ministry to present Sputnik V vaccine at UN today

Russia's permanent mission to the UN and the Health Ministry will hold a presentation, which will provide detailed information on the Russian vaccine against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), mission spokesman Fyodor Strzhizhovsky told Sputnik.

 

During a speech at the UN General Assembly in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that the organisation's employees be provided with the Russian vaccine against coronavirus free of charge. Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia, in turn, did not rule out that the vaccine developers would present it at the UN headquarters.

 

"On Wednesday, December 2, a presentation of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine will take place. Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia, and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriyev will take part in the event," Strzhizhovsky said.

11:34 AM

Coronavirus India update: Five most affected states by cases

Maharashtra (1,828,826)

Karnataka (886,227)

Andhra Pradesh (868,749)

Tamil Nadu (783,319)

Kerala (608,357)

10:42 AM

Australia's economy rebounds sharply in third quarter from Covid recession

 Australia's economy rebounded sharply in the third quarter from a coronavirus-induced recession as consumer spending surged though the country's top central banker signalled monetary policy will stay accommodative for a while.

 

Data out earlier showed the A$2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) economy expanded by a bigger than expected 3.3% in the September quarter, following a 7% contraction in June, as the country largely got COVID-19 under control.

 

The rebound was led by household spending, which rose 7.9%, driven by massive fiscal and monetary stimulus since March. Read on...

10:09 AM

Word leaders to address high-level, special session of UN General Assembly on coronavirus pandemic

World leaders, the top leadership of the UN and vaccine developers will address a two-day, special session of the UN General Assembly on COVID-19 this week and discuss the pandemic's impact as well as the multi-faceted, coordinated response required to address the greatest global health crisis in decades.

 

The Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly in Response to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic will take place on December 3 and 4 at the UN Headquarters.

 

The world organisation said government leaders, United Nations' principals and other relevant stakeholders would be able to engage in dialogue on the impact of the pandemic on people, societies and economies and discuss the multi-faceted, coordinated response required to address this crisis.

 

Serum Institute of India Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla will also address the session through a pre-recorded video on December 4.

9:48 AM

Coronavirus India update: Summary of MoHFW data (December 2)

Active cases: 428,644 (Net reduction: 6,959)

Deaths: 138,122 (Net addition: 501)

Cured: 8,932,647 (Net addition: 43,062)

Total cases: 9,462,809 (Net addition: 36,604)

9:03 AM

18 Covid patients discharged in Chinese mainland

A total of 18 Covid patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovery across the Chinese mainland, the National Health Commission said in a daily report on Wednesday.

 

There were 268 confirmed cases still being treated, including eight in severe conditions, the report showed, Xinhua news agency reported.

8:54 AM

Sunny Deol tests positive for coronavirus

Bollywood actor and BJP MP Sunny Deol on Wednesday said that he has been tested positive for novel coronavirus.

 

The Gurdaspur MP shared the update on Twitter, saying he is fine.

 

"I got myself tested for coronavirus and the reports are positive. I am in isolation and fine," he tweeted in Hindi.

8:20 AM

Mexico set to sign Pfizer vaccine deal today

Mexico's government was due to sign a contract on Wednesday with pharmaceutical company Pfizer for the delivery of its coronavirus vaccine, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Tuesday.

 

Pfizer has submitted the details about its vaccine to Mexico's health regulator, Cofepris, and the country's foreign minister last month said the government expects the vaccine to reach Mexico in December.

 

Lopez-Gatell said the contract with Pfizer, which developed its vaccine with German partner BioNTech SE, is expected to be signed by Health Minister Jorge Alcocer, and the Finance Ministry was making plans to ensure Mexico sets aside enough money to pay for the Pfizer and other vaccines.