Coronavirus news highlights: Kerala sees 6,049 fresh Covid cases; Maharashtra reports 3,106

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. As per the understanding, Ocugen will have US rights to the vaccine candidate and, in collaboration with Bharat Biotech, will be responsible for clinical development, registration, and commercialisation for the US market.

. The survey, conducted by Gaon Connection among 6,040 rural respondents across 60 districts in 16 states and one union territory, found that 36 per cent said they would not want to pay for it. The remaining 20 per cent said they are yet to decide on paying for the vaccine.

. Bharat Biotech has already produced about 10 million doses of its still-in-trials Covaxin shot, ahead of an anticipated roll out by the middle of next year. It has a current annual capacity of 300 million vaccines and expects the first 100 million to be deployed by India, which has partly financed the development.

. "During this crisis, the entire world understood that the real superman is our doctors, nurses and paramedical staff. I am the Defence Minister. And, I urge you to come forward and render your services to the armed forces," Singh said while addressing the foundation day programme of King George's Medical University (KGMU) through video-conferencing.

. A man wearing a Santa Claus costume sanitizes children's hands inside a slum, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease inMumbai. Credit: Reuters Photo

. Total cases: 6,18,747

Total recoveries:5,99,683

Death toll: 10,329

Active cases: 8,735

. More than 40 countries have suspended travel from Britain in a bid to contain a fast-spreading new strain of thecoronavirus.

Scotland had already closed its border with the rest of the United Kingdom.

Here are some of the travel bans announced so far.

France has halted all travel from Britain for 48 hours, including anyone transporting goods by road, air, sea or rail.

Paris and London are in talks over testing at ports to reopen the border, British Home Secretary Priti Patel said.

Germany is extending a ban on all arrivals from the UK and South Africa -- where the new strain has also appeared -- until January 6.

Spain and Portugal are suspending flights, with Madrid only allowing its nationals or residents to enter from Britain.

Indiahas suspended all flights until December 31, with anyone arriving from Britain on transit flights to be tested.

Its financial capital Mumbai is being put under curfew over fears of the British strain.

AFP

. Bharat Biotech on Tuesday announced the recruitment of 13,000 volunteers and continued progress towards achieving the goal of 26,000 participants for the Phase III clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine 'Covaxin' across multiple sites in India.

Covaxinhas been evaluated in approximately 1,000 subjects in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials, with promising safety and immunogenicity results, Bharat Biotech said in a statement.

The indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine has been developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Virology (NIV), it added.

PTI

. The co-founder of BioNTech said on Tuesday that it was "highly likely" that its vaccine against the coronavirus works against the mutated strain detected in Britain, but it could also adapt the vaccine if necessary in six weeks.

. India on December 22 suspended all flights to and from the United Kingdom over the new rapid-spreading strain of coronavirus detected in parts of England. Senior government health officials reportedly termed the curbs as "only a precautionary measure" with experts noting that India has only seen "minor mutations in the virus which is not of much consequence."

. Turkey has identified and quarantined 4,603 airline passengers who arrived from the United Kingdom on and after December 14, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Tuesday.

Flights from the UK, South Africa, Denmark and the Netherlands were suspended on Sunday evening in response to a new strain of coronavirus said to be circulating there.

(PTI)

. Odisha's Covid-19 tally rose to 3,26,915 on Tuesday as 319 more people tested positive for the infection, while four fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 1,843, a health official said.

As many as 184 new cases were reported in quarantine centres, while the remaining fresh infections were detected during contact tracing, he said.

(PTI)

. (PTI)

. No specific date has been given for vaccine re-distribution. If you look at whatever is the govt line, sometimes in January 2021, Covid-19 vaccine should be available for redistribution: Delhi International Airport (DIAL) CEO Videh Jaipuriar on redistribution of Covid-19 vaccines

(ANI)

. Adapting to the new hybrid normal of remote and office work, cautiously optimistic corporates are looking to hire more people and provide better appraisals in the new year as they step out of the pandemic-ravaged 2020.

. The state government has started testing international airline arrivals from the United Kingdom in a bid to stop the possible transmission of a new mutated strain of the Sars-CoV-2 virus which causes Covid-19.

. Russia reported 28,776 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, including 7,237 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 2,906,503 since the pandemic began.

Authorities also confirmed 561 deaths, taking the official death toll to 51,912.

(Reuters)

. Passengers who arrived at Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport from the UK protested against the authorities over the alleged delay in carrying out their coronavirus tests.

Their family members on Tuesday claimed that they have been made to wait for hours.

The authorities, however, said the clearance may take some more time as every passenger and crew member will have to be tested for coronavirus.

(PTI)

. Lost in the US launch of the coronavirus vaccine is a fact most don't know when they roll up their sleeves: In rare cases of serious illness from the shots, the injured are blocked from suing and steered instead to an obscure federal bureaucracy with a record of seldom paying claims.

. I came to know about a person who tested positive after arriving from UK. We are following all guidelines. Whoever will come from UK will be tested at the airport... There is no need to impose night curfew in Karnataka: CM BS Yediyurappa

(ANI)

. We are testing for Covid-19 passengers of flights originating or halting in UK. One such passenger tested positive yesterday. It's incorrect to presume that he is infected with UK variant of Covid. We'll send his samples to NIV, Pune: Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan

(ANI)

. Police conducted a raid on a club near Mumbai airport in the early hours of Tuesday and arrested 34 people for allegedly violating the Covid-19 prevention norms, an official said.

. Amid the raging global coronavirus outbreak, a new strain of the virus has been found in the United Kingdom, sending experts scurrying for new detailed analysis. And a revelation that could raise the eyebrows further, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation, told NDTV that the new strain of Covid-19 may already be present in many countries.

. The Vatican said Monday that it was “morally acceptable” to receive Covid-19 vaccines tied to research involving foetal tissue derived from abortions, as long as there was no alternative.

. Five out of 266 passengers & crew members of a flight which arrived at Delhi airport from London last night have tested positive for Covid-19. Their samples have been sent to NCDC for research & they have been sent to care centre: Nodal officer for Covid-19

. A passenger, who returned to Chennai from Britain via New Delhi, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, amid concerns that a new strain of the Covid-19 virus is spreading more quickly in that country.

. According to DH tally, the total number of confirmed positive cases in India reached1,00,76,080; death toll stands at 1,46,111 as of December 22.

. Social distancing norms were flouted at a BJP MLA's wedding here, with hundreds of people attending it and many of them, including senior party leaders, not bothering to wear masks.

. The House easily passed a $ 900 billion pandemic relief package Monday night that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths.

. Click here

. A total of 242 passengers have arrived on board this special flight. They need to undergo RT-PCT test which may take 6-8 hours and for that, passenger need to stay at the airport: Deepak Bhatia, SDM, Ajnala, Amritsar

(ANI)

. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday sought to sound a note of calm saying he was working "as fast as possible" to unblock trade across the Channel after France shut its borders to UK hauliers in a bid to contain a new variant of the coronavirus.

. US President-elect Joe Biden received a Covid-19 vaccine live on television Monday in a campaign to boost Americans' confidence in the jabs.

. The pandemic brought into focus one of the neglected areas of our culture — mental health in the workplace. Multiple studies have shown that disruptions in the workplace had a direct impact on employees’ mental and physical health. A recent survey by an HR firm in India found that 50% of their respondents were worried about their uncertain future, particularly their finances and career growth.

. Many Indian students booked to travel back home to be with their friends and family in India over the Christmas and New Year period are among those caught up in Monday’s suspension of all flights to and from the UK as the world reacts to a new rapid-spreading strain of coronavirus detected in parts of England.

. The World Health Organization cautioned against major alarm over a new, highly infectious variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain, saying this was a normal part of a pandemic's evolution.

. The European Union on Monday gave official approval for the coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer to be used across the 27-nation bloc, raising hopes that countries can begin administering the first shots to their citizens shortly after Christmas.

. A new variant of the coronavirus spreading rapidly in Britain carries mutations that could mean children are as susceptible to becoming infected with it as adults - unlike previous strains, scientists said on Monday.

. The Karnataka government has decided to trace 138 passengers who arrived in the state from the United Kingdom with no negative Covid-19 certificate. They will be subjected to an RT-PCR test and if their samples test positive, genetic sequencing of the sample will be done at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) lab, Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar told reporters here on Monday.

. Indian benchmark equity indices -- Sensex and Nifty -- tumbled on Monday by over 3% each as panic selling gripped stock markets across the globe on fears of new deadly strain of the Coronavirus found in the United Kingdom.

. Mainland China recorded 15 new Covid-19 cases on December21, compared with 23 the previous day, and will look to strengthen measures to prevent the arrival of a new strain of the coronavirus, the country's health authority said.

(Reuters)

Coronavirus news highlights: Kerala sees 6,049 fresh Covid cases; Maharashtra reports 3,106

Bharat Biotech, Ocugen to co-develop Covaxin for US market

44% rural Indians willing to pay for Covid-19 vaccine; 51% consider coronavirus 'Chinese conspiracy': Survey

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Medical fraternity at forefront of Covid crisis, not less than 'superman': Rajnath Singh

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