A total of 16,488 novel coronavirus cases were reported in a day, while the death count rose to 1,56,938 with 113 new fatalities, showed the data updated at 8 am on Saturday.

The active case count has further increased to 1,59,590, which comprises 1.44 per cent of the total infections, the data stated.

The number of recoveries reached 1,07,63,451, which translates to a national COVID-19 recovery rate of 97.14 per cent and the case fatality rate stands at 1.42 per cent.

Meanwhile, with 2,84,297 vaccine doses administered to healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs) on the 42nd day of nationwide COVID-19 vaccination, the total number of vaccination crossed 1.37 crores in the country, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on February 27.

According to the Union Health Ministry, 1,37,56,940 vaccine doses were given through 2,89,320 sessions.

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With 214 fresh deaths, India’s coronavirus death toll now stands at 1,49,649.

Among 1.03 crore total cases, there are 2,43,953 active cases while 99,46,867 have recovered. In the past 24 hours, India saw 19,557 recoveries, as per the Union Health Ministry.

Maharashtra reported 3,282 new cases and 35 deaths in the last 24 hours. There are now 53,137 active cases in the state, the health department informed. So far, 18,36,999 people have recovered, while the death toll stands at 49,666.

Kerala reported 4,600 new cases and 4,668 recoveries on Sunday. With this, the total number of active cases in the state now stands at 65,278.

As many as 424 new coronavirus cases and 708 recoveries were reported in the national capital on Sunday, as per the Delhi Health Department. The total number of positive cases now stands at 6,26,872, while the death toll stands at 10,585, including 14 on Sunday. There are currently 5,044 active cases in the national capital.

With 7,35,978 samples tested for the coronavirus on Sunday, the total number of samples tested so far stands at 17,56,35,761, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed.

On January 3, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) granted permission for restricted use in an emergency situation to vaccines of Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Dr Randeep Guleria clarified that approval of COVAXIN, Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine is for an emergency situation and not emergency use authorisation which is given to Serum Institute of India’s COVISHIELD.

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Addressing a virtual press conference, Harsh Vardhan said, “The central government is alert. In the past year, as you all have seen, we took all the necessary measures to ensure the safety of people. We are aware of what all needs to be done. If you ask me, there’s no reason to panic.”

As more countries barred travel from the UK, with others considering similar action in a bid to block a new strain of coronavirus sweeping across southern England, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sounded a warning note against it and urged the Centre to suspend all travel from the country.

Meanwhile India’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,00,55,560 with 24,337 new infections being reported on Mondya. The number of people who have recovered from the disease crossed 96 lakh, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

The death toll increased to 1,45,810 with 333 new fatalities. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 96,06,111 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.53 percent, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.45 percent.

The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 4 lakh for the 15th consecutive day. There are 3,03,639 active coronavirus cases in the country which comprise 3.02 percent of the total caseload, the data stated.

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Among the 99.3 lakh coronavirus cases, India now has a total of 3,32,002 active Covid-19 cases while 94,56,449 have been discharged so far. In the past 24 hours, the country also recorded 33,813 new discharges.

With 387 new Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours, India’s death toll has gone up to 1,44,096.

The national recovery rate is at 95.21 percent while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 2.46 percent. The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 4 lakh for the 10th consecutive day.

In India’s worst hit state, Maharashtra, the seven day average of daily cases has dropped nearly 82 percent from the peak of 22,149 seen on September 17.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 15,66,46,280 samples have been tested for COVID-19 upto December 15 with 10,85,625 samples being tested on December 15.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said preparations are underway to prepare local officials to receive and administer vaccines, a process that is likely to cover close to 300 million people by the middle of next year.

He also said that India is showing a sustained improvement in containing the Covid-19 outbreak. But at the same time , they warned that trends in other countries are also a strong reminder of how the situation can quickly go out of control even if one peak is contained.

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The total number of active cases now stands at 5,05,265 after a decrease of 4,408 in the last 24 hours.

Total recovered cases are at 79,59,406 with 42,033 new discharges in the last 24 hours.

India’s COVID-19 active cases have fallen below six percent of the total cases.

In a tweet, the Health Ministry said, “ Demonstrating a landmark achievement, India’s active cases have fallen below 6% of the total cases. The recovered cases have leaped past 92% of the cumulative cases.”

In another tweet, it said, “Caliberated and effective strategy of the Center focused on high levels of testing for early identification combined with timely tracing, isolation and hospitalisation of the severe cases have resulted in a manageable number of active cases and continuously rising number of recoveries.”

Delhi has overtaken Maharashtra and Kerala by reporting 7,745 infections in a span of 24 hours to become the largest contributor to the single-day infections.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 11,96,15,857 samples have been tested for coronavirus till November 9. Of these 10,43,665 samples were tested on November 9.

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India recorded 490 deaths in the last 24 hours raising the death toll to 1,26,611.

The total number of active cases stands at 5,09,673. Total recovered cases are at 79,17,373 with 48,405 new discharges in the last 24 hours.

Keeping up with the trend of single-day COVID-19 recoveries outnumbering daily new cases, on November 8, 49,082 patients recuperated from the disease in a day, the Union Health Ministry said.

As the national case rise decreases, the onset of winter and pollution left Delhi grappling with a third wave of coronavirus- it’s most severe yet.

The global coronavirus caseload has breached the 50 million cases mark, according to the latest updates by Johns Hopkins University on November 9 (local time).

The exact number of COVID-19 cases worldwide stands at 50,325,072 while the number of fatalities due to the disease worldwide stands at 1,255,489.

The United States became the first nation worldwide since the pandemic began to surpass 10 million coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally on Sunday, as the third wave of the COVID-19 virus surges across the nation.

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According to the updated health ministry data, 557 coronavirus patients succumbed to the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country due to the infection to over 1.25 lakh.

India currently has 5,16,632 active coronavirus cases after a decrease of 4,141 in the last 24 hours. So far, 78,19,887 people have been discharged. On Friday, 53,920 coronavirus patients were discharged.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India has so far tested 11,65,42,304 samples to detect coronavirus. Of these, 11,13,209 samples were tested on November 6.

India’s single-day coronavirus recoveries exceeded daily new infections successively for the past five weeks, while active cases are on a sustained decline.

There is a continuous decline in average daily new cases for the last five weeks. The ministry had said on Friday that 80 per cent of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 10 states and union territories.

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The capital recorded 6,700 fresh COVID-19 cases for the first time on November 3, taking the infection tally in the national capital to over 4lakh. This is the first time when the number of daily cases has crossed the 6000-mark.

The Chief Minister said that there is no need to panic as they are monitoring the situation and will take all necessary actions.

There has been a rise in COVID19 cases. We can call this the third wave of COVID cases here. We are monitoring the situation, and will take all necessary actions: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/YkoBzxxTGO

— ANI (@ANI) November 4, 2020

The sudden spike in coronavirus cases come amid the festive season and rising pollution level.

The sudden climb in daily numbers in the last few days is due to greater movement of people during the festive season and laxity in adhering to safety norms.

The total number of cases has climbed to 4,03,096 and the positivity rate stood at 11.29 percent

The National Centre for Disease Control in a report drafted recently had warned that Delhi needs to be prepared for about 15,000 fresh cases of COVID-19 per day taking into account winter season-related respiratory problems and due to festive gatherings.

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The total coronavirus cases mounted to 83,64,086 and the deaths have climbed to 1,24,315 with the virus claiming 704 lives in the last 24 hours in the country.

The COVID-19 case fatality rate was recorded at 1.49 percent. So far, there are 5,27,962 active cases of COVID-19 which comprises 6.31 percent of the total caseload.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 11,42,08,384 samples have been tested up to November 4, with 12,09,425 samples being tested on November 5.

Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer (CEO) of Pune-based pharmaceutical company Serum Institute of India (SII) said that the covid vaccine is likely to be available in the country by January 2021 provided approvals from regulatory bodies are in place and only if its proven immunogenic and efficacious.

The SII is working in collaboration with British- Sweden pharma major AstraZeneca to produce the potential covid-19 vaccine Covishield.

The CEO of the world’s largest drug manufacturing firm also said that the firm is in talks with the government over the pricing of the vaccine and assured that it will be available at a reasonable price.

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With 46,253 fresh infections, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country mounted to 83,13,876, while the deaths rose to 1,23,611 after 514 more fatalities were reported.

A total of 76,56,478 people have recovered from the infections so far, pushing the national recovery rate to 92.09 percent, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.49 percent.

The number of active cases of COVID-19 remained below six lakh for the sixth consecutive day. There are 5,33,787 active cases in the country so far, which comprise 6.42 percent of the total caseload.

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There are 5,82,649 active cases of the novel coronavirus in the country, while as many as 74,32,829 people have recovered from the disease.

This is the first time that the fatality rate has dropped to 1.5 per cent, the health ministry said.

Meanwhile, Delhi is once again being burdened by coronavirus caseload as the national capital is reporting over 5,000 covid-19 cases three days in a row . On October 30, a record 5,891 fresh cases were reported in the state.

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Harsh Vardhan, at a Group of Ministers meeting, said, “We’re expecting that early next year we should have the vaccine in the country from maybe more than one source. Our expert groups are formulating strategies to plan on how to roll out the distribution of the vaccine in the country.”

Harsh Vardhan’s remarks on the availability of coronavirus vaccine in India and its distribution in the country has come a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) said it believes a coronavirus vaccine would be ready for registration by December 2020 or early next year at the earliest.

The minister had said that considering the large population size of India, one vaccine or vaccine manufacturer will not be to fulfill the requirements of vaccinating the whole country.
India is the second worst affect country by the coronavirus pandemic after the United States.

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The phase-III human clinical trial began at the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune on September 17. King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Mumbai on September 23 began the phase II and III trials of the coronavirus vaccine.

Some participants in the trials for the coronavirus vaccine have also received their second doses and have not reported any adverse side-effects.

However, some did develop a fever after the dose of the coronavirus vaccine, but top scientists said that those are mild reactions and should not be worried about.

Some investigators also said that developing a fever is considered a common and mild side-effect of vaccines.

In September, Aztra Zeneca Plc said it has paused a late-stage trial of one of the leading coronavirus vaccine candidates after an unexplained illness in a study participant. After reviews the safety of the vaccine and its procedures, the human trials were resumed.

The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has partnered with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca for manufacturing the coronavirus vaccine candidate, being developed by the University of Oxford, UK.

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The death toll from the virus has reached 92,290 with 1,141 deaths reporting on Friday.

As India’s coronavirus numbers continue to grow, there are some promising signals over the last few days. For the past six days, the number of recoveries logged per day in the country have been exceeding the number of fresh cases. In the last 24 hours, the number of recoveries stood at 81,177.

The health ministry on Friday said that 75 per cent of new cases of coronavirus in the country are concentrated in 10 states and Union Territories (UTs) so as 74 per cent of new recoveries.

The ministry also pointed out that a minimum of 14 states demonstrated better Covid-19 response on the basis of higher tests per million population and corresponding lower positivity rate than the national average.

A total of 68,928,440 samples have been tested for Covid-19 so far out of which nearly 1.5 million samples were tested on Thursday, as per data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Meanwhile, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Kerala, Delhi are some of the states that continue to be worst-hit from the pandemic.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejiriwal said the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has hit its peak in the national capital with experts hinting that the intensity of virus spread will decline in the coming days.

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Following his swab samples returning positive for COVID-19 on September 11, the MP from Belagavi had requested all those who came in close contact with him in the last few days to monitor their health and get tested in case of any symptoms.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to offer condolences. He said that Angadi “was a dedicated MP and effective Minister, admired across the spectrum. His demise is saddening.”

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said on the micro-blogging website, “Deeply anguished at the unfortunate demise of Suresh Angadi ji. He was like my brother. Words fall short to describe his commitment & dedication towards the people. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends in this hour of need. Om Shanti”.

President Ram Nath Kovind also expressed his shock at the untimely demise of the Minister.

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However the government admitted that “Covid-19 epidemic has temporarily affected various sectors including micro, small scale enterprises which also affected job scenario”. More interestingly, it went on to add that there was no data on the number of MSMEs closed down from FY 2014-15 to FY 2019-20 either.

However, it listed the measures the government has taken for the sector, including the Rs 20,000 crore subordinate debt for MSMEs, Rs 3 lakh crore collateral-free automatic loans for business, including MSMEs, and Rs 50,000 crore equity infusion through an ‘MSME Fund of Funds’.

According to reports, data which was used to address the Covid-induced problems was largely from 2013. The latest data available on MSMEs is based on the Economic Census of 2013. There was no studies conducted after that to assess the actual number of these units and it’s turnover. The only data the ministry owns is the number of registered MSMEs.

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According to an email to employees, these centres will provide medical support to associates and their dependents (spouse, children and parents /parents-in-law) who are asymptomatic or mildly COVID-19 positive with no other co-morbidities or medical history/complications.

All the centres will have 24/7 medical cover, along with daily monitoring by trained professionals.

The patients can even connect with a counsellor virtually during their treatment.
TCS said that the priority has always been to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees.

“TCS Health Centres campuses will provide isolation, comfort and treatment by the health professionals to our employees and their dependents, who are asymptomatic or have mild (COVID-19) symptoms,” a statement from TCS said.

These centres, which will function as per the various guidelines laid down by the Centre and state governments, have been set up in TCS facilities in Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Indore and Nagpur.

TCS has collaborated with various entities to provide medical and hospitality support at these centres that have around 20-50 beds.

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The pandemic claimed 1054 lives in the last 24 hours which pushed the death toll over 80,000.
The country now has 9.90 lakh active cases. A total 38.59 lakh patients in the country have recovered from Covid-19.

However the sliver lining is the declining fatality, which currently stands at 1.64 percent. According to the health ministry, the case fatality rate (CFR) is one of the lowest in the world and efforts are on to further reduce it to less than one percent.

Maharashtra remains the worst affected state by the pandemic, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said India has managed the coronavirus situation well and that the lockdown has helped prevent nearly 29 lakh cases.

At present, India’s total number of infections is only behind the United States, which still accounts for the highest number of cases and deaths.

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With this latest spike, the coronavirus cases across the country stand at 48,46,428. As per Health Ministry, there are 9,86,598 active cases while 37,80,108 patients have been cured/ discharged.

The country’s recovery rate now stands at 77.99 percent.

#IndiaFightsCorona

The Centre's focussed, calibrated & effective strategies have manifested in high level of Recovery Rate (77.88%),& a sustained low Fatality Rate(1.65%).

There are some States/UTs reporting even better Recovery & Case Fatality Rates than the national average. pic.twitter.com/XYNevUaSXk

— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) September 14, 2020

The country in the last 24 hours reported 1,136 deaths due to the coronavirus taking the overall toll to 79,722.

As per the Ministry, Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected State from the infection with 2,80,138 active cases while 29,115 patients have succumbed to the virus in the State. Andhra Pradesh comes second with 95,733 active cases and 4,846 deaths.

A recent study found that coronavirus genomes in India have 5.39 per cent mutation similarity with 72 nations. The study was done by a group of researchers trying to identify the genetic variability and potential molecular targets in the virus and humans to find the best possible ways for combating COVID-19.

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India is among 169 nations who voted in favour of the resolution.

The Omnibus Resolution on Comprehensive and Coordinated Response to the Covid-19 pandemic was overwhelmingly adopted by the 193-member General Assembly on September 11.

The resolution acknowledges the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) “key leadership role” in responding to the outbreak, a reference the United States objected to as it opposed the resolution.

The US and Israel voted against the resolution and Ukraine and Hungary abstained. The US had accused WHO of mismanaging the COVID-19 pandemic and also siding with China.

India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu tweeted “India votes in favour of the Covid-19 omnibus resolution in the General Assembly recognising the pandemic as one of the greatest global challenges that calls for a global response based on unity, solidarity and multilateral cooperation.”

The resolution “reaffirms its commitment to international cooperation, multilateralism and solidarity at all levels and as the only way for the world to effectively respond to global crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic and their consequences, and acknowledges the key leadership role of the World Health Organisation and the fundamental role of the United Nations system in catalysing and coordinating the comprehensive global response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The UNGA resolution also reiterated Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a global ceasefire amid the pandemic in order to better facilitate the fight against COVID-19. The text also called for the removal of all “unjustified obstacles”, referring to the sanctions imposed on various countries, so that they could access factors needed to combat the disease outbreak.

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Covaxin, the indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine, developed by the ICMR and Bharat Biotech International, is being tested at 12 institutes across India.

The Hyderabad-based firm said the data from the study on primates substantiate the immunogenicity of the vaccine candidate.

“Bharat Biotech proudly announces the animal study results of COVAXIN – These results demonstrate the protective efficacy in a live viral challenge model,” Bharat Biotech tweeted September 11.

Bharat Biotech proudly announces the animal study results of COVAXIN™ – These results demonstrate the protective efficacy in a live viral challenge model.

Read more about the results here – https://t.co/f81JUSfWpD@icmr_niv #BharatBiotech #COVAXIN #Safety #Vaccine #SARSCoV2 pic.twitter.com/fva1SOcLOr

— Bharat Biotech (@BharatBiotech) September 11, 2020

Bharat Biotech has said in a release that it developed and assessed the protective efficacy and immunogenicity of an inactivated Sar-CoV-2 vaccine (BBV152) or Covaxin in rhesus macaques. Twenty macaques were divided into four groups of five animals each, it said.

One group was administered with placebo, while three groups were immunized with 3 different vaccine candidates at 0 and 14 days. All the macaques were exposed to viral challenge 14 days after the 2nd dose.

BBIL’s #Covaxin(BBV152) found protective in Macaques: A two-dose vaccination regimen using 3µg dose of the vaccine with adjuvant B induce a significant immune response and provide effective protection in macaques challenged with #SARSCoV2 https://t.co/FgSnD2eCmA pic.twitter.com/hQHh2klAnX

— Vipin M. Vashishtha (@vipintukur) September 11, 2020

The results showed protective efficacy, increasing coronavirus specific IgG and neutralizing antibodies, reducing replication of the virus in the nasal cavity, throat, and lung tissues of monkey.

No evidence of pneumonia was observed by histopathological examination in vaccinated groups, unlike the placebo group.

Remarkable immunogenicity and protective efficacy of BBV152, an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in rhesus macaques https://t.co/b82dA6QlcW ICMR-NIV made very good effort to demonstrate potential immunogenicity in non-human✌️ Primate with BBV152. ! @ICMRDELHI @drharshvardhan

— Dinesh kumar (@Dineshk38263974) September 11, 2020

Adverse events were not seen in animals immunized with a two-dose vaccination regimen.

The vaccine candidate was found to generate robust immune responses. Thus, preventing infection and disease in the primates upon high amounts of exposure to live coronavirus.

Covaxin is one of the frontrunners in the race for a covid-19 vaccine in India. It is an “inactivated” vaccine – it works by injecting doses of the virus that have been killed aiming to prompt the body to build antibodies against it without the virus a posing a threat.

Each stage of a vaccine’s clinical trial tests its safety and ability to develop an effective immune response. Phase 1 focuses on determining safety and dosage in a small group of healthy participants, while Phase 2 looks at the vaccine’s effectiveness. Phase 3 looks into these aspects in a much larger population that would represent a wider demographic.

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