Coronavirus LIVE: 38 infected in India with new virus strain, says govt

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,947,011, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 921,938, Andhra Pradesh 883,082, Tamil Nadu 820,712, and Kerala 775,000

9:48 AM

Maharashtra coronavirus update: 379 new Covid-19 cases in Thane, 5 more deaths

Thane has recorded 379 new cases of coronavirus, raising the infection tally in the Maharashtra district to 2,44,250, an official said on Monday.

 

Apart from these new cases reported on Sunday, five people also succumbed to COVID-19, taking the toll in the district to 5,979, he said.

9:33 AM

Japan govt considering declaring emergency in Tokyo due to Covid spike

Japanese government is preparing to declare another state of emergency in Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures, due to the spike in coronavirus infections in the country, Kyodo News reported citing a source on Monday.

 

Tokyo Government Yuriko Koike and her counterparts in Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama prefectures on Saturday had urged the central government to issue a second declaration, days after the capital reported more than 1,300 new coronavirus cases in a single day for the first time, Kyodo News reported. Read on...

9:25 AM

US Surgeon General defends US Covid data after Trump said it's exaggerated

US surgeon general Jerome Adams on Sunday contradicted President Donald Trump's claim of "exaggerated" Covid-19 cases and deaths in the US saying that these numbers are real.

 

"I don't speak for the President. I speak for the office of the surgeon general and the public health service and I'm focused on making sure people get the information they need and wash your hands and stay your distance and get the vaccine when it's available," Adams told CNN.

 

He added that he has "no reason" to doubt the numbers. "From a health perspective I have no reason to doubt those numbers and I think people need to be very aware it's not about the deaths as we talked about earlier but the hospitalizations and the capacity," US Surgeon General said further. Read on...

8:53 AM

Asian factories shake off Covid-19 hit, tighter controls cloud outlook

Asian factory activity expanded moderately in December thanks to robust demand in regional giant China, business surveys showed on Monday, the latest sign that manufacturers are emerging from the initial damage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

But Chinese factory growth slowed and tougher coronavirus control measures put in place or being considered across the world clouded the outlook, keeping Asian policymakers under pressure to maintain or ramp up massive stimulus programmes. Read on...

8:09 AM

US President Trump says US coronavirus cases, deaths 'exaggerated'

US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that the record-breaking numbers of new COVID-19 cases, nearly 300,000 in the past 24 hours, are exaggerated due to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) method of counting.

 

"The number of cases and deaths of the China Virus is far exaggerated in the United States because of @CDCgov (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)'s ridiculous method of determination compared to other countries, many of whom report, purposely, very inaccurately and low," Trump wrote in a tweet.

 

The outgoing president added, "'When in doubt, call it Covid.' Fake News!" Read on...

7:59 AM

UK registers nearly 55,000 coronavirus cases in past 24 hours: Govt data

The United Kingdom registered 54,990 Covid-19 cases within the past 24 hours, a drop from 57,725 the day before, according to government figures.

 

This takes the total number of registered cases in the country to 2,654,779.

 

At the same time, an additional 454 fatalities, up from 445 on Saturday, put the overall death toll at 75,024.

 

UK's health authorities do not keep a tally of recoveries, which leaves the number of active cases in the country unknown. Read on...