Coronavirus news highlights: Kerala reports 6,169 fresh Covid cases; Tamil Nadu sees 1,066

India records 23,950 new Covid-19 cases, 26,895 recoveries, and 333 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per Health Ministry. Two returnees from the United Kingdom tested positive for Covid-19 in Bengaluru on Tuesday and their samples are undergoing genomic testing to determine if they have contracted a new variant of the virus. Earlier, six passengers travelling on Air India's London-Delhi flight tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Delhi as several countries around the world banned flights and travellers from Britain. Meanwhile, Karnataka has imposed night curfew from 10 pm to 6 am starting today, till January 2. Stay tuned to DH for latest updates.

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People who are infected should also take Covid-19 vaccine: Bharat Biotech Chairman

Talking about the company's efficacy trials of its Covid-19 vaccine, he said that for the efficacy trials the company has taken 24 centres all over the country so that it has tier I ,tier II and tier III cities to capture the efficacy in a better way.

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Centre starts contest for strengthening digital network platform 'CoWIN' for Covid-19 vaccine distribution

The government is enhancing use of the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) system, which provides real-time information on vaccine stocks and storage temperatures across all cold chain points in the country to address the needs for distribution and tracking of Covid-19 vaccine.

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Covaxin's protection against Covid-19 could last 6 to 12 months, Phase-2 trials interim findings show

Researchers testing India's first indigenously developed vaccine candidate – BBV152, branded Covaxin - claimed that ithas displayed tolerable safety outcomes with enhanced humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in a wide age range ie., volunteers 12 years and above to 65 years and below.

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Karnataka reported 958 new Covid-19 cases, 1,206 discharges and 9 deaths today.

Total cases: 9,12,340

Total discharges: 8,86,547

Death toll: 12,038

Active cases: 13,736

Kerala reported 6,169 new Covid-19 cases today. The number of active cases now at 62,802 and so far 6,55,644 patients have recovered from the disease: Govt of Kerala

Tamil Nadu reported 1,066 new Covid-19 cases, 1,131 discharges, and 12 deaths in the last 24 hours: State Health Department, Govt of Tamil Nadu

Total positive cases: 8,10,080

Total discharges: 7,88,742

Death toll: 12,024

Active cases: 9,314

A female passenger stands in a carriage of a train from the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) which resumed service, following a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, inChennaion December 23, 2020. Credit: AFP Photo

Delhi reports 871 new Covid-19 cases, 1,585 recoveries and 18 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per Delhi Health Department

Total cases: 6,19,618

Total recoveries: 6,01,268

Death toll: 10,347

Active cases: 8,003

Six passengers have tested positive for Covid-19 today. Around 50 passengers have been advised for institutional quarantine: Delhi Airport

745 passengers quarantined after landing in Mumbai in two days

As many as 1,688 passengers arrived at the Mumbai international airport from the UK and other countries since Monday midnight and 745 of them were quarantined in the city, a civic official said on Wednesday.

In the wake of detection of a new variant ofcoronavirusin the UK, a new Standard Operating Procedure has been issued for dealing with passengers arriving from Europe and the Middle-East.

It could not be ascertained if any of these 745 passengers were found to have Covid-19 symptoms.

Around 2,000 passengers were expected to land at the Mumbai airport in the last two days, but only 1,688 had landed as of Wednesday afternoon, said an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

PTI

Rules to stop coronavirus variant stoke chaos at Indian airports

Like many countries, India has suspended flights from Britain, where cases have soared because of the variant.

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Tamil Nadu government allows 'Jallikattu,' says events must follow norms to keep Covid-19 at bay

Spectators shall be subjected to thermal scanning before entry into the open spaces earmarked for the events and they must follow requisite social distancing and wear masks, the government said in an official release.

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New strain of coronavirus may be present in Karnataka already: Experts

Scientists said that there could be a chance that a new mutated variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus which is sweeping through the South of Britain has already made its way into Karnataka through airline passengers.

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Between December 23 and January 2, no function or festive celebration will be allowed to take place after 10 pm. It applies to every kind of celebration: Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar.

Antarctica has recorded its first Covid-19 case after 36 people tested positive on a research base

The virus was detected in 26 members of the Chilean military and 10 maintenance workers stationed at the Base General Bernardo O’Higgins Riquelme in the Antarctic Peninsula, authorities said in a statement to 24 Horas, adding that they were tested after reports that some had developed symptoms.

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Karnataka government imposes night curfew (between 10 pm & 6 am) in the state, starting today; the curfew to remain in place till January 2: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa.

Poet Sugathakumari passes away due to Covid-19

She was under treatment at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital over the last few days. She was suffering from respiratory problems and kidney ailments. Her condition worsened by Tuesday after she suffered a heart attack and was under ventilator support.

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Elephant Santas spread coronavirus awareness among Thai children

Christmas and Thailand's love of elephants combined Wednesday when four of the giant creatures dressed as Santa turned up at a school just outside Bangkok, complete with huge coronavirus masks.

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Active Covid-19 caseload of India stands at 2,89,240. The share of active cases in the total positive cases has further shrunk to 2.86%. 26 states/UTs have less than 10,000 active cases: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

EU eases UK travel restrictions amid discovery of new Covid-19 strain; Germany, South Africa extend travel ban

Meanwhile, in the United States, President Donald Trump rejected a massive Covid economic relief package passed by Congress, branding it "a disgrace" as millions of Americans are suffering fallout from the pandemic.

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Covid-19 positivity rate has fallen below 1 percent in Delhi. Over 80,000 tests are being conducted every day: Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain.

India likely to approve AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine by next week

India is likely to approve Oxford/AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine for emergency use by next week after its local manufacturer submitted additional data sought by authorities, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

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Trump threatens to not sign Covid-19 bill, wants bigger stimulus checks

USPresident Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday not to sign a $892-billion coronavirus relief bill that includes desperately needed money for individual Americans, saying it should be amended to increase the amount in the stimulus checks.

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India records 23,950 new Covid-19 cases, 26,895 recoveries, and 333 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per Health Ministry.

Pulse oximeter devices have higher error rate in Black patients

Pulse oximeters are one of the most commonly used tools in medicine. The small devices, which resemble a clothespin, measure blood oxygen when clipped onto a fingertip, and they can quickly indicate whether a patient needs urgent medical care.

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A total of 16,42,68,721 samples tested for Covid-19 up to December 22. Of these, 10,98,164 samples were tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Pfizer nears deal with US government for additional Covid-19 vaccine doses

Pfizer Inc is close to striking a deal with the USgovernment to supply at least tens of millions of additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate next year in exchange for a government directive giving it better access to manufacturing supplies, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

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New coronavirus strain: What we know so far

A new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, recently emerged in the UK, sowing panicaround the world. Many countries, including India, have cut off air links to the UK as a result. The new variant is up to 70% more transmissible thanthe original SARS-CoV-2 strains, making it more fearsome.But a lot more needs to be understood about it.

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Two UK returnees test positive for Covid-19 in Bengaluru

Two returnees from the United Kingdom tested positive for Covid-19 in the city on Tuesday. Their samples areundergoing genomic testing to determine if they have contracted a new variant of thevirus.

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AstraZeneca says its vaccine should be effective against new coronavirus variant

British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc told Reuters on Tuesday its Covid-19 vaccine should be effective against the new coronavirus variant, adding that studies were under way to fully probe the impact of the mutation.

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Can travel bans curb the spread of new coronavirus strain? Experts skeptical

As nation after nation rushed this week to close their borders with Britain, the moves brought back memories of the way the world reacted after the coronavirus first emerged broadly in the spring. Most of those initial travel prohibitions came too late, put in place after the virus had already seeded itself in communities far and wide.

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Joe Biden says he will push Congress for another Covid-19 relief bill

President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday he will ask Congress for another Covid-19 relief bill when he takes office, insisting that Americans want Republicans and Democrats to work together again after Donald Trump goes.

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24/7 Covid-19 testing facility launched at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport

A round-the-clock Covid-19 testing facility has been launched at the Kempegowda International Airport. Located near the arrival area of the terminal, the RT-PCR testing centre is managed and operated by Bengaluru-based Auriga Research Private Limited.

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France set to ease UK travel ban over new coronavirus strain

EU nationals and residents of EU countries will be allowed to enter from Wednesday providing they can show a negative Covid-19 test no more than 72 hours old.

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US will not impose Covid-19 screenings for flights from Britain

The US government does not intend to impose Covid-19 screenings for passengers travelling from Britain after the emergence of a highly infectious new coronavirus variant there, people briefed on the decision said.

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BBMP commissioner tests positive for Covid-19

Sources said Prasad reported slight breathing difficulty on Monday and gave the sample for the RT-PCR test. “Today (Tuesday), the results confirmed the infection with mild fever and (I’m) currently in isolation at Mallige Hospital,” Prasad said.

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