Coronavirus LIVE: 73.63% of new fatalities came from just seven states

Coronavirus live updates: India will launch its Covid-19 vaccination drive on January 16 and priority will be given to nearly three crore healthcare and frontline workers

10:56 AM

China, Vietnam shown there is way of dealing with pandemic even in absence of vaccine: IMF

China and other countries in Asia like Vietnam have shown that there is a way of dealing with a pandemic even in the absence of a vaccine, allowing the economy to get back on track, according to a top IMF official. The playbook here is the one that includes local restrictions, rapid testing, rapid tracing and seeing these measures through until the end, until localised outbreaks subside, said Hlge Berger, Mission Chief for China and Assistant Director, Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). I think China, but not only China, but other countries in Asia, look, for example, at Vietnam, have shown that there's a way of dealing with a pandemic even in the absence of a vaccine, that will allow the economy to get back, at least close to normal operating capacity by learning how to deal with local outbreaks, Berger told reporters during a conference call.

10:50 AM

Allahabad HC asks UP to submit plan to check Covid in Magh Mela

The Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to submit a 'Foolproof Plan' through which it intends to check the corona spread during the annual 'Magh Mela' scheduled to begin on January 14. The court order came after the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary had informed the court that people will be allowed to enter the defined 'Magh Mela' area after they produce a negative Covid-19 report. Reviewing the instructions submitted by the state government, a division bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Ajit Kumar said they are not convinced that the steps taken by the state will be sufficient to curb the spread of coronavirus.

 

10:44 AM

No fresh COVID-19 case in Andamans, tally at 4,959

Andaman and Nicobar Islands did not record a single fresh COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours, a health department official said on Sunday. The coronavirus tally in the union territory remained at 4,959, while a total of 62 people have so far died due to the contagion, he said. Seven more persons were cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries in the archipelago to 4,873, the official said.

10:29 AM

Total number of samples tested up to 9th January is 18,10,96,622

10:18 AM

New Zealand identifies 31 new cases of COVID-19

New Zealand has identified 31 new cases of COVID-19 during the past three days, said the Ministry of Health in a statement on Sunday. While there was no new case of COVID-19 in the community, there has been an average of around ten new and historical cases of COVID-19 at the New Zealand border per day, totalling 31 cases since its last media statement on Thursday, according to the ministry.

10:07 AM

India reports 18,645 new Covid-19 cases: Health Ministry

9:43 AM

Maharashtra: 371 new COVID-19 cases in Thane, 7 more deaths

Thane has added 371 new cases of coronavirus, taking the infection count in the Maharashtra district to 2,46,702, an official said on Sunday. Apart from these new cases recorded on Saturday, seven more people also died of COVID-19, raising the death toll in the district to 6,021, he said. The COVID-19 mortality rate in the district currently stands at 2.44 per cent, the official said.

9:34 AM

Four security personnel among 17 new COVID-19 cases in Mizoram

Seventeen more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram, taking the state's tally to 4,292 on Sunday, an official said. Eleven of the new cases were reported from the Aizawl district, four from Lawngtlai and two cases were detected in the Lunglei district, he said. Two Army personnel and two Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were among the newly-infected people.

9:34 AM

Four security personnel among 17 new COVID-19 cases in Mizoram

Seventeen more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram, taking the state's tally to 4,292 on Sunday, an official said. Eleven of the new cases were reported from the Aizawl district, four from Lawngtlai and two cases were detected in the Lunglei district, he said. Two Army personnel and two Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were among the newly-infected people.

9:18 AM

UK raises $1 billion to support COVID-19 vaccination in developing countries

The United Kingdom has raised USD 1 billion from global donors to fund vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 in developing countries, the UK Foreign Office said Sunday. "The UK has helped to raise USD 1 billion for the coronavirus COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) through match-funding other donors, which combined with the Pound 548 million [USD 744.5 million] of UK aid pledged will help distribute one billion doses of coronavirus vaccines to 92 developing countries this year," the office said in a statement, released as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres begins his online visit to the country to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.

 

9:06 AM

Netanyahu receives second dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday received a second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech anti-coronavirus vaccine, along with Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, CNN reported. "Receives the second shot in the "Returning to Life" campaign - all Israeli citizens will be vaccinated within 2-3 months and we will be able to open our economy," Netanyahu wrote in a tweet. "I agreed with Pfizer on more huge shipments of vaccines to Israel that will allow us to vaccinate all Israeli citizens until mid-March. We can open up our whole economy and come back to life. We entered Corona together and with the help of the name we will leave it together, first in the world and stronger than ever," Netanyahu wrote in another tweet.

8:49 AM

Vaccines offer hope but return to economic growth calls for determined efforts: Vice President

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said that though vaccines offer hope of shielding people from COVID-19, it would take determined efforts to return to a potential economic growth trajectory. "Vaccines do offer the hope of shielding people from the disease, but return to the potential economic growth trajectory calls for determined efforts. Fortunately, we are on the positive side. The economy is picking up," said the Vice President while speaking on the occasion of the 'Legislators Day' in Panaji. He complimented the people and successive governments of Goa for the state's emergence as the most developed in the country with the highest per capita income.

8:45 AM

Global Covid-19 caseload top 89.5mn: Johns Hopkins

The overall global coronavirus caseload has topped 89.5 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 1.92 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University. In its latest update on Sunday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and death toll stood at 89,571,229 and 1,924,331, respectively. The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 22,110,203 and 372,152, respectively, according to the CSSE.

8:31 AM

Brazil's COVID-19 death toll tops 202,000

Brazil's COVID-19 death toll reached 202,631 on Saturday after 1,171 more patients died from the novel coronavirus during the past 24 hours, official data said. In the last 24 hours, tests detected 62,290 new cases of infections, bringing the nationwide tally of confirmed cases to 8,075,998. Brazil has the world's second-largest COVID-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third-largest outbreak, after the United States and India.

8:12 AM

Rs 201 crore released for healthcare from PM Care funds

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