Coronavirus LIVE: Second Covid-19 vaccine dry run to be conducted on Friday

Coronavirus live updates: At 1,950,171, Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases, followed by Karnataka 923,353, Andhra Pradesh 883,587, Tamil Nadu 822,000, and Kerala 784,488

3:26 PM

Georgia reports 1,800 new Covid-19 cases

Georgia on Wednesday reported 1,800 new COVID-19 cases, taking its total to 233,879, according to the country's National Center for Disease Control and Public Health.

 

Data from the center showed that 489 more patients have recovered in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 223,276.

 

Meanwhile, 20 people died in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 2,666. Georgia reported its first confirmed case on February 26.

2:21 PM

No fresh Covid-19 fatality in Odisha after 6 months

After a gap of over six months, Odisha on Wednesday did not report any fresh fatality due to COVID-19, while 231 new cases pushed the state's caseload to 3,30,921. As many as 133 new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while 98 infections were detected during contact tracing, he said.

 

Sundergarh district reported the highest number of new cases at 32, followed by Bargarh (25) and Angul (21), the official said.

 

"Happy to share that after over six months, there are no COVID deaths reported in the state on 5th January, 2021. We salute our COVID Warriors whose tireless efforts have made this possible," the state Health Department tweeted.

1:53 PM

11 staffers at Gujarat secretariat complex test positive for Covid-19

Eleven people working in a complex of the state secretariat premises in Gandhinagar have tested positive for coronavirus in the last four days, officials said on Wednesday. Gujarat Chief Minister's Office is located on the fourth floor of the complex, known as 'Swarnim Sankul-1', while offices of the deputy chief minister and other cabinet- rank ministers are on the lower floors.

 

Out of nearly 70 employees of the four-storey complex, who were tested as part of a drive recently conducted by the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, 11 were found infected with the coronavirus, the civic body's health officer, Dr Kalpesh Goswami, said.

 

"Eleven people, mostly peons and clerks, were found infected with the coronavirus during our testing drive in the last four days. They were referred to hospitals for further treatment," he said.

1:10 PM

EU is botching most important stage of Covid management, mass vaccination

European countries have long prided themselves on their strong welfare states, including public-health systems. They are also convinced that the state has a big role to play in fostering the recovery after the pandemic.

 

The painfully slow rollout of Covid-19 vaccines across the European Union is undermining any claims that government knows best, whether at a national or supranational level. Unless Europe gets its mass inoculation programs right, quickly, it will be hard to believe that its political model can deliver better results to its citizens than what’s available in the rest of the world. Read on...

10:42 AM

Five states with highest 24-hour net addition to active cases

Kerala (669)

Maharashtra (268)

Andhra Pradesh (95)

Puducherry (16)

Meghalaya (10)

10:10 AM

Coronavirus India update: Top 5 states by recovery

Maharashtra (1850189)

Karnataka (901579)

Andhra Pradesh (873427)

Tamil Nadu (802385)

Kerala (717311)

10:09 AM

Coronavirus India update: Five states with most active cases

Kerala (63993)

Maharashtra (50223)

Uttar Pradesh (12286)

Karnataka (9656)

West Bengal (9293)

9:58 AM

Coronavirus India update: Five most affected states by cases

Maharashtra (1,950,171)

Karnataka (923,353)

Andhra Pradesh (883,587)

Tamil Nadu (822,370)

Kerala (784,488)

9:22 AM

Coronavirus India update: Summary of MoHFW data (January 6)

Active cases: 227,546 (Net reduction: 3,490)

Deaths: 150,114  (Net increase: 264)

Cured: 9,997,272 (Net increase: 21,314)

Total cases: 10,374,932 (Net increase: 18,088)

9:22 AM

First case of new coronavirus strain registered in Oman

Omani medical workers have identified the first case of a new strain of coronavirus in a foreigner permanently residing in the Sultanate who has arrived from the UK, the Omani Ministry of Health said in a statement.

 

"The new strain of coronavirus was found in a foreign resident of Oman who came from the UK when he had breathing problems while in quarantine. He was tested for the presence of coronavirus before arriving in Oman and immediately after arriving in the Sultanate," the ministry said.

9:14 AM

South Korea reports 840 more Covid-19 cases, tally over 65,000

South Korea reported 840 more cases of Covid-19 as of midnight Tuesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 65,818.

 

The daily caseload stayed below 1,000 for two straight days, but it hovered above 100 for 60 days since November 8 due to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.

 

The daily average number of confirmed cases for the past week was 863.7.

 

Of the new cases, 263 were Seoul residents and 269 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

8:51 AM

3 more people test positive for UK variant of Covid-19 in Chennai

3 more people have tested positive for UK variant of Covid-19 in Chennai. So far, 4 people have tested positive for the new variant of the virus: Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Dr Radhakrishnan in Chennai yesterday

8:21 AM

US confirms Covid-19 variant infections in 4 states as vaccine rollout lags

The US has confirmed infections of the Covid-19 variant in four states, as the vaccine rollout nationwide lags behind schedule.

 

New York State reported on Monday its first case of the new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus that was initially discovered in the UK, the Xinhua news agency reported.

 

The case was identified in a 60-year-old man from Saratoga County who had no travel history, according to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.

 

New York is the fourth state in the country that has confirmed infection of the new strain, which has also been found in California, Florida and Colorado.

 

The variant is thought to be more transmissible but does not appear to make people more ill or increase the risk of death from Covid-19, experts have said.