Coronavirus news highlights: India's Covid-19 tally inches closer to the 98-lakh mark; toll rises to 142,178

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. The Indian drug regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, permitted Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals to conduct a phase-1/2 clinical trial of its mRNA vaccine on Wednesday with the condition that on completion of the first phase examining the vaccine’s safety, the company would submit its data for a review before starting the phase-2 to evaluate the vaccine’s immune response.

. The union home secretary reviewed the arrangements for Covid-19 vaccine roll-out and asked the state and UTs to prepare a database of the frontline workers who will receive the vaccine during the initial stages, a home ministry official said.

. The Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) has funded six new projects, including one to develop Covid-19 diagnostic technologies and another to study the longer-term effects on the hearts and lungs of patients who have recovered.

. A robot dispenses sanitizer as a preventive measure against the Covid-19 coronavirus to a voter at a polling station during the second phase of the local state body elections in Kochi on December 10, 2020. Credit: AFP Photo

. Total positive cases: 7,95,240

Total discharges: 7,72,995

Death toll: 11,853

Active cases: 10,392

Credit: AFP Photo

. ANI

. The country has also reportedless than 40,000 new daily cases of Covid-19 for eleven continuous days, the Health Ministry underscored.

. Indian companies are set to produce eight, more affordable vaccines designed to fight Covid-19, including AstraZeneca's Covishield, called the "vaccine for the world" by its developers.

. The US has set a new grim record of more than 3,000 Covid-19 related deaths in a single day, reflecting a bleak reminder of the pandemic’s devastating toll, even as two coronavirus vaccine candidates appear to be on the verge of clearing the country’s final regulatory hurdles.

According to The Covid Tracking Project, the US on Wednesday reported as many 3,054 reported deaths -- the highest single-day total to date.

The previous single-day record was on May 7 at 2,769 deaths, it said.

Overall, there were 1.8 million tests reported on Wednesday, 210,000 cases, and a record 106,688 Covid-19 patients in US hospitals, it said.

The 7-day average for Covid-19 deaths are at an all-time high as deaths are rising throughout the country, it said.

. Japan will buy 10,500 deep freezers to store novel coronavirus vaccines and is considering purchasing dry ice in bulk as it prepares to protect its population from the virus, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.

Japan has agreements to buy a total of 290 million doses of the vaccines from Pfizer Inc, AstraZeneca Plc and Moderna Inc, or enough for 145 million people if everyone gets two shots as required.

Pfizer's vaccines need to be kept at around minus 75 Celsius (minus 103 Fahrenheit, and Moderna's at about minus 20C, posing logistics problems.

. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 23,679 to 1,242,203, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday. The reported death toll rose by 440 to 20,372, the tally showed.

. Jharkhand's Covid-19 tally mounted to 1,10,830 as 191 more people tested positive for the infection, a health department official said on Thursday.

The death toll rose to 991 after three more patients succumbed to the disease, he said.

Two new fatalities were reported from Ranchi and one from Dhanbad, the official said.

Ranchi district registered the maximum number of fresh cases at 97, followed by Dhanbad at 16 and Bokaro at 14.

. It's been more than a month sincethe Dasara-Deepavali-Chhath festivities and the Bihar elections that were feared to trigger a second wave of the pandemic. The fear was so greatthat Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to address the nation to warn ofit. But the second wave hasn't yet arrived although there was barely any Covid-appropriate behaviour beyond the bigcities. Even scientists are puzzled. What went right?

. Total cases: 3,994

Active cases: 204

Discharges: 3,784

Deaths: 6

. India is yet to encounter the second wave of the Covid-19 epidemic but hotspots like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala have not lowered their guards anticipating the return of such a wave in January-February, 2021.

. Karnataka on Wednesday fixed new rates for Covid-19 testing, after having fixed the rates six times since March. It was last changed on October 16. An order was released, formalising the prices, for the seventh time.

. The state government has drastically slashed the fine to be imposed on hotels, theatres, malls, marriage halls and event organisers who fail to ensure the use of masks and social-distancing.

. South Africa has officially entered a second wave of the new coronavirus as the number of infections per day exceeds 6,000, the health minister said on Wednesday, raising concerns that restrictions to limit the spread could be tightened.

. It's been more than a month since the Dasara-Deepavali-Chhath festivities and the Bihar elections that were feared to trigger a second wave of the pandemic. The fear was so great that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to address the nation to warn of it. But the second wave hasn't yet arrived although there was barely any Covid-appropriate behaviour beyond the big cities. Even scientists are puzzled. What went right?

Coronavirus news highlights: India's Covid-19 tally inches closer to the 98-lakh mark; toll rises to 142,178

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Karnataka reports 1,238 new Covid-19 cases, 5,076 discharges, and 12 deaths today. Total cases: 8,97,801 Total discharges: 8,66,664 Death toll: 11,912 Active cases: 19,206

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