3.19 pm: Odisha’s coronavirus tally mounts to 3,10,052 on Tuesday, after 644 people tested positive for the virus, while 17 more fatalities pushed the toll to 1,560, PTI reports.

3.11 pm: South Korea says it will impose stricter physical distancing rules for the greater Seoul area a month after easing them, warning of an “even bigger crisis” if containment efforts fail to curb the rise in coronavirus infections, Reuters reports.

Starting Tuesday, the government will ban public gatherings of 100 people or more, limit religious services and audiences at sporting events to 30% capacity, and require high-risk facilities including clubs and karaoke bars to broaden distance among guests.

3.07 pm: The United Kingdom has secured 50 lakh doses of an experimental Covid-19 vaccine developed by Moderna, after it reported positive trial results, health minister Matt Hancock said on Monday, Reuters reports. Interim data from a late-stage trial indicated Moderna’s vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing the coronavirus disease.

Britain had previously secured supply deals for a total of 350 million vaccine doses from six different suppliers, including Pfizer Inc, whose vaccine was found to be more than 90% effective, and 100 million doses of an AstraZeneca/Oxford candidate expected to report late-stage results in coming weeks.

3.00 pm: Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer has launched a pilot delivery program for its experimental Covid-19 vaccine in four American states, as the United States drugmaker seeks to address distribution challenges facing its ultra-cold storage requirements, Reuters reports.

It picked Rhode Island, Texas, New Mexico, and Tennessee for the program after taking into account their differences in overall size, diversity of populations, immunisation infrastructure, and need to reach individuals in varied urban and rural settings.

Pfizer’s vaccine, which was shown to be more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19 based on initial data, must be shipped and stored at -70 degrees Celsius, significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2-8 degrees Celsius, the company said.

2.55 pm: India has seen less than 50,000 daily new Covid-19 cases for the past ten days, the Union Health Ministry says. “While this signifies the wide adoption of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour among the population, it also assumes significance in view of the high number of daily cases being continuously reported in many countries in Europe and America,” the government adds.

2.50 pm: Two Bharatiya Janata party legislators have tested positive for the coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district, PTI reports.

“On Monday, MLA Arun Kumar was participating in a programme on the ‘jayanti’ of Chitragupt, when he started feeling ill,” Bareilly Chief Medical Officer Vineet Kumar Shukla said. “He was immediately shifted to a 300-bed hospital, and tested positive. He has been admitted to a private hospital.”

BJP MLA from Faridpur, Shyam Bihari Lal, on the other hand, tested positive on Monday and is now isolating himself at home, Shukla added.

1.02 pm: With 72 new coronavirus cases recorded on Tuesday, Puducherry’s tally of infections rises to 36,409, PTI reports.

1.00 pm: The Supreme Court refuses to entertain a plea seeking directions to the Central Board of Secondary Education and the Delhi government to waive examination fees for students of classes 10 and 12 in the current academic year in view of the pandemic, and financial problems being faced by some parents, PTI reports.

12.58 pm: Arunachal Pradesh records 56 new coronavirus cases, including nine security personnel and a healthcare worker, pushing the tally to 15,868 in the state, PTI reports.

12.41 pm: Kejriwal thanks the central government for providing 750 intensive care unit beds to the city immediately, reports ANI. “All government agencies have doubled their efforts to control covid-19 but it can’t be done till people take precautions,” he adds. “I appeal all to wear masks and follow social distancing.”

12.40 pm: The Delhi government has also sent a proposal to the Centre, saying that if required, the city can shut down markets areas that are turning into coronavirus hotspots because norms are not being followed.

12.39 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says the Delhi government has sent proposal to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to consider allowing only 50 people to attend wedding functions against the earlier limit of 200.

11.13 am: US President-elect Joe Biden on Monday warned that more coronavirus deaths will take place, if incumbent President Donald Trump does not cooperate in transition, The Washington Post reports.

“More people may die if we don’t coordinate,” he said. Biden warned of a “very dark winter” where “things are going to get much tougher before they get easier.”

11.09 am: Top US infectious diseases official Anthony Fauci says the results of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine are “stunningly impressive”, AFP reports. “I had said, and I must admit, that I would have been satisfied with 70, or at the most 75 percent efficacy,” he tells the news agency.

11.06 am: Jain adds that the positivity rate in Delhi has fallen below 13% from 15.33% last week. “Though we’re in the third wave, the peak is now over,” he says. “From here, we’ll definitely see a downtrend.”

The Delhi health minister says that 16,500 beds have been reserved for coronavirus patients and now nearly 8,000 beds are available.

11.03 am: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain says more cases are being reported in the Capital because people from other places are getting their tests done here, ANI reports. “There are many patients who are from outside but they get tests conducted here using Delhi address,” he says. “We can’t refuse anyone for tests. So, that results in an increase in numbers. Almost 25-30% outsiders are getting their tests done in Delhi.”

9.31 am: India records 29,163 new coronavirus cases – the lowest in over four months – taking the country’s total to 88,45,127, data from the health ministry showed. The toll rises to 1,30,519 with 449 more deaths. The number of active cases stand at 4,53,401. As many as 82,90,370 people have recovered from the disease so far.

8.53 am: The Winter Session of Parliament is likely to be adjourned, reports NDTV. An unidentified minister tells the news channel that there was no urgency to hold a session. The Parliament is expected to be convened in the last week of January ahead of the Union Budget on February 1.

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8.50 am: Bharat Biotech says it has begun the phase 3 clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine candidate, Covaxin. “The Phase III trials will involve 26,000 volunteers across India, conducted in partnership with ICMR,” Bharat Biotech adds. “It is the largest clinical trial conducted for a Covid-19 vaccine in India. This is India’s first phase 3 efficacy study for a Covid-19 vaccine, and the largest phase III efficacy trial ever conducted in India.”

8.45 am: The World Health Organization is investigating a possible cluster after five staff members tested positive last week, reports Reuters. “To my knowledge the cluster being investigated is the first evidence of potential transmission on the site of WHO, but we can’t completely protect ourselves from our own social and other engagements with family and school and so many other things,” adds Mike Ryan, WHO’s top emergency expert.

8.42 am: Below is Manipur’s tally till Tuesday morning.

8.40 am: Here are the top updates from Monday