Coronavirus LIVE: Places of worship in Maharashtra to reopen, says CM

Coronavirus live updates: Maharashtra has 1,740,461 coronavirus cases, Karnataka 857,928, Andhra Pradesh 851,000, Tamil Nadu 752,521 and UP 514,060.

3:49 PM

China finds coronavirus on packaging of Saudi shrimp

The western Chinese city of Lanzhou said on Saturday it had detected the new coronavirus on the packaging of a batch of shrimp imported from Saudi Arabia, as China ramps up testing of frozen foods.

The Lanzhou Municipal Health Commission said in a statement on its website that it had found one positive sample on Friday on the inner packaging of imported frozen shrimp from Saudi Arabia that had passed through customs in the coastal city of Tianjin.

The cold storage plant in Lanzhou where the case was discovered had been temporarily closed, all employees of the plant had been tested, all food involved was sealed and the whereabouts of all food sold had been determined, the statement said.

2:07 PM

Elaborate precautionary measures in Sabarimala in view of Covid-19

With only one day left for the opening of Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple for the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku season, the Kerala government said elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure that no Covid-19 patient reaches the hill shrine for the pilgrimage.

 

The entirepilgrimage would be through the virtual queue system this time, so the usual heavy rush can be regulated, Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said after a high level meeting of officials to review the final preparations at the temple on Friday.

 

Detailing various measures taken by the government to ensure a smooth pilgrimage in the wake of the pandemic, Surendran said each pilgrim, visiting the shrine, should carry a Covid negative certificate, taken within the last 24 hours.

 

Covid-19 testing kiosks would be opened at Pampa and Nilakkal, the base camps, to help devotees to carry out the test before beginning the trekking.

1:47 PM

Scientists decode why Covid-19 spares children

Scientists have found a key factor which may explain why the novel coronavirus predominantly affects adults and older people while seeming to spare younger children, an advance that may lead to the development of new treatment strategies for COVID-19.

 

According to the researchers, including those from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in the US, children have lower levels of a receptor protein that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 needs to invade airway epithelial cells in the lung.

 

The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, support efforts to block this protein to potentially treat or prevent COVID-19 in older people, the scientists said.

1:44 PM

Telangana registers 1,000 new Covid cases, tally 2.5 lakh

Telangana has registered 1,050 new Covid positive cases, increasing the state's tally to 2.56 lakh, even as 1,736 more patients recovered from the virus to outnumber infections on Saturday.
 

Hyderabad accounted for the highest number of infections in the past 24 hours, 232, followed by Medhcal Malkajgiri (90), Rangareddy (75), Nalgonda (65), Khammam (61), Karimnagar (49) and Bhadradri Kothagudem (47).
 

Among other places, Siddipet (36), Sangareddy (29), Peddapalli (24), Mancherial (23), Jagityal and Mahabubabad (21 each).
 

Meanwhile, four more people succumbed to the virus, raising the southern state's Covid toll to 1,401. On adding the new deaths, Telangana's Covid fatality rate stands at 0.54 per cent, compared to a national average of 1.5 per cent.

1:34 PM

Podcast: India cases at 8,773,479; Trump sticks to 'no national lockdown' stance

India has reported 45,343 fresh Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. The total caseload now stands at 8,773,479. The country's death toll has mounted to 129,225. Delhi recorded a spike of 7,802 Covid-19 cases on Friday taking its infection tally to over 474,830. Click here to listen to the podcast for more

1:25 PM

Karnataka: People engaged in firecracker business in Shivamogga say their sale is down due to coronavirus

“Last year, we sold nearly 50% of our stock by this time. This year, response is low as we've sold only 25-30% of crackers. People are hesitant to buy them,” says a shop owner.

1:17 PM

Odisha's coronavirus death toll crosses 1,500-mark

Odisha's coronavirus death toll crosses 1,500-mark with 15 more people succumbing to infection, 902 new cases push tally to 3,07,906; active case count 11,098: Official

1:16 PM

Why does coronavirus appear to spare kids?

Researchers have identified a key factor as to why Covid-19 appears to infect and sicken adults and older people preferentially while seeming to spare younger children.

 

Children have lower levels of an enzyme/co-receptor that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, needs to invade airway epithelial cells in the lung.

 

The findings, published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, support efforts to block the enzyme to potentially treat or prevent Covid-19 in older people.

 

"Our study provides a biologic rationale for why particularly infants and very young children seem to be less likely to either get infected or to have severe disease symptoms," said Jennifer Sucre, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), Nashville, US.

12:56 PM

US reports highest single-day spike with 177,000 new Covid-19 cases

The United States on Friday recorded its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases, registering over 177,000 new cases, reported The Washington Post.

 

Every state reported an increase in new COVID-19 cases, with at least 10 states tallying all-time highs, including Midwestern states like Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Ohio, where the surging numbers have pushed hospital capacity to dangerous levels. Read on...

12:54 PM

Joe Biden faces tough choice of whether to back coronavirus lockdowns

Joe Biden faces a decision unlike any other incoming president: whether to back a short-term national lockdown to finally arrest a raging pandemic.

 

For now, it's a question the president-elect would prefer to avoid. In the week since he defeated President Donald Trump, Biden has devoted most of his public remarks to encouraging Americans to wear a mask and view the coronavirus as a threat that has no regard for political ideology. Read on...

12:27 PM

Canadian govt's Covid-19 support not infinite, says Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he has warned the premiers of the country's 10 provinces that "impossible" choices will have to be made if they don't lower their Covid19 caseloads soon.

 

Trudeau's remarks on Friday came as the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of easing up across Canada as the country's provinces announced new lockdown measures and the government continues to urge the public to take the health crisis seriously, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

On Tuesday, he had warned the provinces and territories to "do the right thing" and impose restrictions to counter the recent rise in Covid-19 cases.

11:42 AM

Japan PM reiterates call to action as Covid-19 cases hit record high

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reiterated his call to take strict action against the raging Covid-19 pandemic, as new cases across the country have hit a record high.

 

Addressing the media on Friday, Suga confirmed that cases had been surging in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi prefectures, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

He said that having been briefed on the situation by Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is also in charge of Japan's coronavirus response, and Health Minister Norihisa Tamura, he had instructed officials to make all-out efforts to tackle the spread of the virus while working with local governments.

11:41 AM

How Covid-19 may severely affect our offsprings

Scientists have claimed that by the end of 2020, approximately 300,000 infants could be born to mothers infected by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

 

The study, published in the Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Diseases, revealed that exposure to Covid-19 could pose a risk to the health and ageing of individuals who aren't even born yet.

 

"Millions more will be born into families who have experienced tremendous stress and upheaval due to the pandemic even if they haven't been infected themselves," said the study authors from University of Southern California (USC) in the US.

11:24 AM

Covid-19: Jharkhand reports 288 new cases, four fresh fatalities in 24 hrs

Jharkhand's Covid-19 tally mounted to 1,05,781 as 288 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Saturday.

 

Four new fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 921, he said.

 

The fresh deaths were reported from Ranchi, Bokaro, Ramgarh and East Singhbhum.

 

Ranchi district reported the highest number of new cases at 84, followed by Bokaro (45), East Singhbhum (29) and Dhanbad (26), the official said. Read 

11:12 AM

Japan PM reiterates call to action as Covid-19 cases hit record high

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reiterated his call to take strict action against the raging Covid-19 pandemic, as new cases across the country have hit a record high.

 

Addressing the media on Friday, Suga confirmed that cases had been surging in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi prefectures, reports Xinhua news agency. Read on...