Coronavirus LIVE Updates: AstraZeneca Halts Vaccine Trial; Shot Will be Rolled Out for All Brazilians by Jan 2021, Says Health Minister

Chennai Metro Rail services resumed in a graded manner in the Blue Line between Washermenpet to Airport from September 7 & green line between St. Thomas Mount & Puratchi Thalaivar Dr MG Ramachandran Central Metro today, September 9 from 7 am: Chennai Metro pic.twitter.com/xmJY3gKFwE

— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2020

The COVID-19 case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.69 per cent. There are 8,97,394 active cases of COVID-19, which is 20.53 per cent of the total caseload in the country, the data stated.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan attended the 73rd session of WHO Regional Committee for South East Asia, through video conferencing.

Delhi: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan attended the 73rd session of WHO Regional Committee for South East Asia, through video conferencing. pic.twitter.com/YrRHXcizQG

— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2020

Puducherry Covid Update | Five women and as many men succumbed to COVID-19 in Puducherry on Wednesday while 341 more people contracted the virus, pushing the tally of infections to 18,084. A release from Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said 341 new cases were reported at the end oftesting of 2,560. The Director said nine out of the total deaths onWednesday occurred in Puducherry and remaining one wasreported from Karaikal region. Of the total 18,084 cases, 4,770 were active while 12,967patients recovered and discharged so far.

Australia Not Worried About Trial Pause | Australia is not worried about AstraZeneca Plc's decision to put on hold its COVID-19 vaccine trial, its deputy chief medical officer said today, as daily cases nudged higher in the country's coronavirus hot spot. Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth said the news does not mean the vaccine "is off the table". Coatsworth said Australia like many other governments has invested in several coronavirus vaccine candidates, "knowing not all of them will get through". Australia's coronavirus hot spot of Victoria on Wednesday, meanwhile, reported its biggest rise in daily cases now accounts for about 75% of Australia's 26,450 COVID-19 cases and 90% of its 781 deaths.

Plasma Therapy May Be Safe, Effective in Children | Study Convalescent plasma therapy appears to be a safe and possibly effective treatment for children with life-threatening cases of COVID-19, according to a small study. The research, published in the journal Pediatric Blood and Cancer, is the first report of convalescent plasma in children with life-threatening COVID-19.

Pak Reports 426 New COVID-19 Infections | Pakistan's number of coronavirus cases reached 299,659 today after 426 new infections were detected in the last 24 hours, the health ministry said. Nine patients died during the period, taking the number of fatalities to 6,359 across the country. As many as 544 people are in critical condition, the Ministry of National Health Services said. A total of 286,509 people have fully recovered from the disease. Sindh has reported 130,969 cases, Punjab 97,389, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 36,711, Islamabad 15,780, Balochistan 13,402, Gilgit-Baltistan 3,068 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 2,340 cases.

Dr Reddys Announce 'Redyx' in India | Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd today announced the launch of Remdesivir, meant for treatment of COVID-19 patients, under a brand name 'Redyx' in India. According to a press release from the drug maker, thelaunch is part of the licensing agreement with GileadSciences, Inc. (Gilead) that grants Dr Reddys the right toregister, manufacture and sell Remdesivir, a potentialtreatment for Covid-19, in 127 countries including India. Remdesivir is approved by Drug Controller General ofIndia (DCGI) for restricted emergency use in India for thetreatment of Covid-19 patients hospitalized with severesymptoms. "Dr Reddy's Redyx is available in strength of 100 mgvial," it said.

Odisha's Covid Update | Odisha reported 3,748 new COVID19 cases on September 8, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 1,35,130 including 1,02,185 recoveries and 32,312 active cases: State Health Department

Agra Sees Rise in Covid Cases | All markets in Agra will now remain open except for the weekly off-day, as the Sunday lockdown has been lifted. The hospitality industry is now gearing up to welcome visitors from September 21 when the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort will be reopened. Senior-level schools have also been green signalled to start preparations to restart classes in a staggered manner. However, the surge in numbers of fresh cases of Covid-19 cases in the whole Agra region continued to remain alarming with the Taj city reporting 89 more cases in the past 24 hours.

Rajasthan Covid Case Update | 728 new COVID-19 positive cases and 7 deaths reported in Rajasthan. Total number of cases now at 94,854 including 15,761 active cases and 1,171 deaths, says State Health Department. 

Delhi Police Designates Team to Maintain Covid Protocol | Delhi Police has said in view of spread of coronavirus in Delhi, each Police Station shall detail one dedicated team comprising of an upper subordinate & one lower subordinate to report to one location in their respective district to prosecute persons who violate protocols. 

Covid Cases in Germany Rise to 253,474 | The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,176 to 253,474, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed today. The reported death toll rose by nine to 9,338, the tally showed.

Covid Deaths in Mexico Climbs to 68,484 | Mexico reported 5,351 new confirmed cases Mexico reported 5,351 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 703 additional fatalities yesterday, bringing its totals to 642,860 infections and 68,484 deaths, according to updated health ministry data. The government has said the real number of infected people is likely to be significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

More than 9 lakh COVID-19 deaths Across World | More than 9 lakh COVID-19 deaths were reported around the world. India again reports close to 90k new cases (89.7k) after 75.8k cases the previous day. Daily deaths in India have been more than 1,000 for 8 days in a row. Delhi reports 3.6k new cases, its highest in 75 days. 

World-wide Update on Coronavirus Cases. USA Tops the number of coronavrus infections with India at number 2 with over 43 lakh cases..

Here's a state-wise breakdown of India's Covid case tally...

India's Covid Cases Cross 43 Lakh Mark | India's Covid-19 case tally crosses 43 lakh mark with a spike of 89,706 new cases and 1,115 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. 

Brazil Eyeing Vaccine Rollout in Jan | Brazil's acting Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said that a COVID-19 vaccine would be rolled out for all Brazilians in January 2021.Brazil has the third-worst outbreak of coronavirus globally with more than 4.1 million cases, passed this week by India for the second highest number of cases after the United States. More than 127,000 people have died from the disease, according to the official Health Ministry death toll.

England to Toughen up Restrictions | Tough new lockdown restrictions on social gatherings across the whole of England are to be announced on Wednesday as Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to control a spike in COVID-19 infections. From September 14, groups of more than six people will be banned from meeting and fined if they fail to comply, Johnson will said. The number of cases in Britain has begun to rise sharply again in recent days. Although testing is more widespread and the number of people in hospital is well below the peak of the outbreak, ministers fear it is beginning to slip out of control.

Jordan Confirms 2 Covid-19 Cases in Syrian Refugee Camp | Jordanian authorities confirmed the first two cases of coronavirus in a refugee camp hosting Syrian refugees since the pandemic was first reported in the kingdom, the UN refugee agency said. The two Syrians who were transferred to an isolation site tested positive during random testing done by Jordanian health authorities in the Azraq camp, said Rula Amin, UNHCR spokeswoman for the Middle East and North Africa.

Israel Begins Night Curfew to Curb Covid Spike | Israel has begun a week-long campaign of night curfews and school closures in dozens of towns and neighbourhoods with high coronavirus counts, hoping to stem a spike in cases as its public-health chiefs were quarantined for exposure. Most of the 40 zones subject to the partial lockdowns are identified with Israeli Arabs or ultra-Orthodox Jews, minorities where crowding has led to spreading the pandemic. Israel, with a population of 9 million, has recorded 135,288 cases of the novel coronavirus and 1,031 deaths. The discovery that a worker at a Health Ministry project for combating the virus had contracted it prompted senior staff who had been exposed to him to self-isolate as a precaution.

A healthcare worker collects a swab from a passenger for a rapid antigen test upon his arrival at a railway station in Ahmedabad. 

Canada Schools Reopen, Sees Spike in Covid Cases | Canada is seeing a worrying increase in the number of people infected with the coronavirus as schools across the country start to reopen, a top medical official said. Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said an average of 545 new cases had been reported daily over the past week, up from about 300 in July. Several of the 10 provinces have started to reopen schools this week for in-person learning for the first time since March after investing millions in added protections. Quebec, which welcomed back pupils last month, has already reported a number of cases in schools.

A total of 5,18,04,677 samples tested up to 8th September 2020. Of these, 11,54,549 samples were tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) pic.twitter.com/MdDvDizsa8

— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2020

Remote Learning For New York State Colleges? | New York will require kindergarten through 12th grade schools to disclose the number of students and staff testing positive for COVID-19 and may force colleges with more than 100 cases to switch to remote learning, Governor Andrew Cuomo has said. Cuomo said the regulations would provide a check on the procedures put in place by colleges and give parents transparency about testing at elementary through high schools. Cuomo criticized the administration of New York University for not preventing a large gathering of students in nearby Washington Square Park in New York City on Saturday night, and listed several other colleges in the state that have had spikes in COVID-19 cases.

Feels Safe to Travel, say Commuters | Some more pictures as DMRC resumes operations on its Blue Line metro in Delhi today, scenes at the Rajiv Chowk metro station. A  commuter called the resumption of train services a good decision and said COVID19 norms are being followed so it feels safe to travel. 

Delhi: As part of stage-I of resumption of metro services, DMRC resumes operations on its Blue Line today; visuals from Rajiv Chowk metro station.

A commuter says, "It's a good decision to resume metro services; COVID19 norms being followed so it feels safe to travel" pic.twitter.com/thlhAM7R8b

— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2020

French COVID-19 cases and deaths mount | The number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in France rose by 6,544 over the last 24 hours to give a total of 335,524 cases, the health ministry said, as the country battles to avert a second wave of the virus. The number of deaths also climbed by 39 over the last 24 hours to reach a total of 30,764. France has the world's seventh-highest COVID-19 death toll, and authorities are scrutinising the data to see what measures might be needed to help it cope with an expected second wave of the virus this winter.

The convalescent plasma (CP) therapy involves taking antibodies from the blood of a person who has recovered from COVID-19 and transfusing them into an active coronavirus patient.

54 patients recover from COVID19 in Nagaland, 25 more test positive, bringing infection tally to 4,245 in state and number of active cases to 496, said a Health department official.