Coronavirus news highlights: India adds 15,144 new cases, 181 deaths; recovery rate rises to 96.58%

India recorded 15,144 new cases of Covid-19 and saw 181 people succumb to the virus. The recovery rate, which has been steadily rising for the past few months, climbed to 96.58%. Meanwhile, Australian Open chief Craig Tiley insisted that the 47 individuals who tested positive for the coronavirus would not end up delaying the tournament's February 8 starting date. Stay tuned for more updates..

That's all for today readers. Track our new blog for the latest updates on coronavirus cases in India and across the globe.

527 COVID-19 positive women delivered babies at LNJP Hospital since March last year: Official

More than 500 pregnant women have delivered babies while being treated for coronavirus infection at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) in Delhi since March last year when it was declared a dedicated Covid-19 facility, officials said.

The national capital reported its first novel coronavirus case on March 1. After the viral infection began to spread, the LNJP Hospital in central Delhi was converted into a dedicated Covid-19 facility. (PTI)

R-Day: Gathering reduced to 25,000 as compared to the usual 1.5 lakh people

"In the view of Covid-19, we are trying to reduce the gathering to 25,000 as compared to 1.5 lakh people earlier. People must follow Covidguidelines. We've restricted children below 15 years adults above 65 years to the program,"ACP Connaught Place, Delhi on Republic Day arrangements told ANI.

Russia reports 23.5k new cases, over 4k deaths

Russia reported 23,586 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, including 4,012 in Moscow, which plans to reopen public schools on Monday after an extended New Year break.

Russia's coronavirus crisis centre confirmed 481 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the national Covid-19 death toll to 65,566. (Reuters)

India's active Covid caseload falls below 2% for the first time

The share of India's active Covid-19 cases, which stand at 2,08,826, has fallen below 2 per cent of the total caseload for the first time, the Union health ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry attributed the fall to the steady decline in the daily cases.

"For the first time, India's share of active cases within the total positive cases has shrunk below 2 per cent (1.98 per cent)," the ministry said in a statement. (PTI)

Austria to extend Covid lockdown to Feb 8

Austria will extend its Covid-19 lockdown until Feb. 8, the APA news agency reported, citing sources familiar with negotiations between the federal and regional governments on Saturday.

The curbs on public life were supposed to end on Jan. 24, but health officials have warned that infection rates remain too high to start easing restrictions at this stage.

The government has scheduled a news conference for 1000 GMT to discuss its latest measures. (Reuters)

State-wise data of total confirmed Covid-19 cases

Six army men test Covid positive in Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh's Covid-19 tally mounted to 16,808 on Sunday as six more people -- all of them military personnel -- tested positive for the infection, a senior official said.

The fresh cases -- detected through the RT-PCR method -- were reported from Dahung military camp in West Kameng district, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

Meanwhile, eight people recuperated from the disease on Saturday, taking the total number of recoveries in the state to 16,690, he said. (PTI)

Tokyo reports 1,592 fresh infections

Tokyo reported 1,592 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, its government said.

Japan expanded a state of emergency in the capital area to seven more prefectures on Wednesday to stem a surge in Covid-19 infections. (Reuters)

Ice cream contaminated with coronavirus found in Tianjin, China

The coronavirus was found on ice cream produced in eastern China, prompting a recall of cartons from the same batch, according to the government.

The Daqiaodao Food Co, Ltd in Tianjin, adjacent to Beijing, was sealed and its employees were being tested for the coronavirus, a city government statement said. There was no indication anyone had contracted the virus from the ice cream.

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No new deaths as Thailand posts 374 cases

Thailand reported 374 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking its total infections to 12,054.

No death was reported, while 10 of the new cases were imported from abroad, Thailand's Covid-19 taskforce said at a briefing. Thailand has recorded 70 coronavirus-related deaths since a year ago. (Reuters)

Mexico records deadliest coronavirus week yet with 7,000 deaths

Mexico has registered its worst week yet of the pandemic, with a record number of infections from the new coronavirus and more than 7,000 Covid-19 deaths, government data showed on Saturday.

There were 20,523 new coronavirus cases and 1,219 more fatalities on Saturday, pushing total confirmed infections to 1,630,258 and deaths to 140,241, the Health Ministry said. (Reuters)

Three new cases in Andaman, no fatality recorded

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported three new Covid-19 cases, pushing the tally in the union territory to 4,982, a health department official said on Sunday.

The three new cases were detected during contact tracing, he said.

The union territory now has 25 active Covid-19 cases, while 4,895 people have recovered from the disease so far, the official said. (PTI)

373 new cases in Thane district, case tally inching closer to 2.5 lakh-mark

With the addition of 373 new cases of coronavirus, the infection count in Maharashtra's Thane district has reached 2,49,182, an official said on Sunday.

Apart from these new cases reported on Saturday, three more people died due to Covid-19, raising the toll in the district to 6,052, he said.

The Covid-19 mortality rate in the district stands at 2.43 per cent, he said. (PTI)

India logs 15,144 new infections, 181 deaths over past 24 hours

India reported 15,144 new cases of Covid-19 and 181 deaths from the deadly virus. The number of people who recovered from Covid-19 stood at 17,170.

Total cases: 1,05,57,985

Active cases: 2,08,826

Total discharges: 1,01,96,885

Death toll: 1,52,274

A popular hangout for bats, tourists and Covid sleuths

The bat caves reeked of bat.

In the murk of the grottoes, in a cave complex west of Bangkok, Thais in headlamps and with flashlights went about their business.

Pilgrims to the temple that owns the complex prayed to Buddha figurines in one of the caves, the statues’ carved expressions betraying no reaction to the plip-plop-ploop of bat droppings falling on their shoulders.

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How British scientists found the more infectious coronavirus variant

All at once, the coronavirus seemed to change.

For months, Dr. Steven Kemp, an infectious disease expert, had been scanning a global library of coronavirus genomes. He was studying how the virus had mutated in the lungs of a patient struggling to shake a raging infection in a nearby Cambridge hospital, and he wanted to know if those changes would turn up in other people.

Then, in late November, Kemp made a startling match: Some of the same mutations detected in the patient, along with other changes, were appearing again and again in newly infected people, mostly in Britain.

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Robots to deliver essentials to Covid patients in Assam

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday handed over two robots, to be used for delivering food and medicines to Covid-19 patients, to the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Diburgarh as a part of the Covid19 infrastructure equipment grant.

The remotely-controllable robotic vehicles are designed for use in isolation chambers of the quarantine facilities.

The grant has been sponsored by the Rotary Foundation, Rotary Club of Dibrugarh and Rotary Club of Dhaka Royal, Bangladesh.

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UK reports third-highest death toll with cases at three-weeek low

Britain reported its lowest number of daily new coronavirus infections since the start of the year on Saturday, adding to signs that a national lockdown is slowing the spread of a more infectious variant of the disease.

However the effect of the recent surge in cases remains clear in the death toll, which was the third-highest on record. Health experts have warned it has further to rise.

Government figures showed the number of people testing positive was 41,346, compared with 55,761 on Friday. It was the lowest daily reading since Dec. 27, when fewer people were getting tested over the festive holiday period.

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47 Covid infections won't delay to Australia Open, says tournament chief

Australian Open chief Craig Tiley insisted Sunday the Grand Slam would begin as scheduled next month, while admitting it was "not a great situation" for the 47 players who have been confined to their hotel rooms.

The tournament was thrown into disarray on Saturday when three people tested positive to Covid-19 on two of the 17 charter flights that brought players and their entourages to Melbourne and Adelaide. (AFP)

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