Coronavirus: Delhi reports 1,363 new cases, record 90,354 tests conducted on Wednesday

11 pm: Uttar Pradesh government says that the vaccination drive for coronavirus will be conducted in three stages across the state, reports ANI.

8.50 pm: Ahmedabad district in Gujarat reports 232 fresh cases of coronavirus, the state health department says, according to PTI. Of these 232 new cases, the highest in the state during the day, 224 were from Ahmedabad city, while only eight were from the rural areas.

7.40 pm: Delhi reports 1,363 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 6,13,357, according to PTI. This is the third consecutive day when the positivity rate has remained below 2%. The toll jumps to 10,182 with 35 new fatalities.

A record 90,354 tests were conducted on Wednesday.

7.10 pm: Kerala reports 4,969 new coronavirus cases today, taking its tally of active cases to 58,155, according to ANI. With 27 more deaths, the toll is at 2,734.

7.02 pm: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says no amount of government intervention will be adequate for the economy to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, reports PTI.

6.40 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi wishes French President Emmanuel Macron a speedy recovery from the coronavirus.

5.12 pm: Puducherry reports 40 new Covid-19 cases, 32 recoveries, according to ANI. The overall cases stand at 37,622 till date, including 307 active cases, 36,693 recoveries and 622 deaths.

3.40 pm: French President Emmanuel Macron tests positive for coronavirus, reports PTI, quoting the presidential Elysee Palace. Macron will isolate for seven days.

2.57 pm: Ladakh logs 21 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the Union Territory to 9,238, reports NDTV. There are 539 active cases and 8,576 recoveries.

2.55 pm: All India Institute of Medical Sciences Delhi Dr. Sanjay Rai tells NDTV that they need 1,000 to 1,500 volunteers for the phase 3 of COVAXIN clinical trial but only have 200 odd volunteers so far.

2.50 pm: The World Health Organization says that countries in the Asia-Pacific region are not guaranteed to have early access to Covid-19 shots and urges them to adopt a long-term approach to the pandemic, reports AP.

“The development of safe and effective vaccines is one thing,” says WHO Regional Director Dr. Takeshi Kasai. “Producing them in adequate quantities and reaching everyone who needs them is another.”

2.33 pm: Odisha registers 351 new coronavirus cases, 358 recoveries and 5 deaths as of Wednesday, reports PTI. The overall tally climbs to 3,25,147, including 3,20,208 discharges, 3,061 active cases and 1,825 fatalities.

1.30 pm: The World Health Organization says China will welcome an international team of experts which is scheduled to travel to the country in January to investigate the animal origins of Covid-19, Reuters reports.

“WHO continues to contact China and to discuss the international team and the places they visit,” Babatunde Olowokure, the global health agency’s regional emergencies director in the Western Pacific, says. “Our understanding at this time is that China is welcoming the international team and their visit...This is anticipated, as far as we are aware, to happen in early January.”

China has been open to the idea of a WHO-led investigation but strongly opposed calls for an international investigation into the virus’ origins.

1.25 pm: The health ministry adds that the country’s recovery rate has risen to 95.31%. India’s active cases now account for 3.24% of the total infections.

1.24 pm: The Union health ministry says India has recorded a steady decline in the number of daily deaths. “The case fatality rate is sustained at 1.45% and is consistently decreasing,” it adds. “India’s fatality rate is one of the lowest in the world. “

1.19 pm: Modi adds that there has been good cooperation between India and Bangladesh in terms of coronavirus vaccines and the functioning of health professionals.

1.14 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi praises his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina for her government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, ANI reports.

12.42 am: A health worker in Alaska in the United States suffers an allergic reactions after getting Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine, CNN reports.

The healthcare worker felt flushed within 10 minutes of getting the vaccine, and later reported shortness of breath and an elevated heart rate.

10.42 am: Belgium logs 3,636 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, taking its tally to 6,15,058, reports The Times of India, citing public health institute Sciensano. The toll in the country rises by 100 to 18,278.

10.36 am: South Korea Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun says the government’s highest priority was securing more bed to handle a surge in coronavirus cases in the country, reports Reuters. The country has reported till Tuesday 1,078 new coronavirus cases, the highest since the pandemic began.

10.31 am: A 28-year-old man, who crossed the Irish Sea from Scotland on a jet ski to visit his girlfriend in the Isle of Man, has been arrested for violating Covid-19 norms, The Indian Express reports. according to the island’s Covid-19 regulations, non-residents are banned from entering without special permission.

10.29 am: Department of Biotechnology advisor Alka Sharma says over 100 experts from friendly neighbouring countries have so far been trained to strengthen capacities in their countries to facilitate phase-3 clinical trials of the Indian Covid-19 vaccine, reports PTI. “More than 100 participants from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Sri Lanka took part in this training programme,” she says.

10.20 am: India’s coronavirus tally rises to 99,56,557 on Thursday as it reports 24,010 new cases in 24 hours. The country’s toll rises by 355 to 1,44,451.

India’s active cases stand at 3,22,366, while the number of recoveries have reached 94,89,740. The new cases are 8.99% lower than the previous day.

9.45 am: Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 7.41 crore people and killed over 16.48 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University. Over 4.19 crore people have recovered from the infection.

9.40 am: Mizoram registers five new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, ANI reports. The state’s tally rises to 4,085.

9.35 am: Germany reported a record 952 deaths on Wednesday, the first day of a new lockdown, according to Reuters.

9.30 am: Andaman and Nicobar Islands registers eight new cases on Thursday, ANI reports. The Union Territory’s tally rises to 4,850.

9.25 am: Outgoing US Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence will get a shot of the coronavirus vaccine on Friday, Bloomberg reports. President-elect Joe Biden is likely to get vaccinated next week.

9.20 am: India has tested more 15.78 crore samples for the coronavirus so far, the Indian Council of Medical Research’s update shows. More than 11.58 lakh samples were tested on Wednesday.

Here are the top updates from Wednesday

1. India’s coronavirus tally rose to 99,32,547 as it registered 26,382 new cases in 24 hours. The country’s toll rose by 387 to 1,44,096. India’s active cases stood at 3,32,002, while the recoveries reached 94,56,449. Wednesday’s new cases were 19.5% higher than the previous day.
   
2. Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech’s vaccine, Covaxin, induced a robust immune response and registered no serious adverse events, according to interim findings of Phase 1 trials released on Wednesday.
   
3. The World Health Organization said that a team of international experts would travel to China next month to help investigate the animal origins of Covid-19
4. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the magnitude of the coronavirus outbreak in the Capital had decreased. “I can’t say that the third wave of Covid-19 is over,” he adds. Jain says that Delhi’s positivity rate on Tuesday was below 2%, for the first time since May. “I would still appeal to the people to wear masks,” he adds.
5. The global coronavirus count crossed 7.34 crore people and the toll went past 16.34 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The number of recoveries crossed 4.15 crore.