Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: 3 More Cases of UK Strain in Chennai; WHO 'Disappointed' as China Blocks Entry to Covid-19 Experts

South Korea Rolls Out Mass Testing for 70,000 Prisoners and Staff | South Korea rolled out mass testing for 52 prisons in the country after a massive prison outbreak and may extend flight suspensions from Britain in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus cases, the health minister said. Over half of the total 2,292 inmates and personnel in a prison in southeastern Seoul were tested positive after a first cluster infection was reported within the prison last month, Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official, told a briefing.

Tokyo Sees Record New Coronavirus Cases | Tokyo’s new daily coronavirus cases topped 1,500 on Wednesday to a fresh record, local media reported, as Japan braces for a renewed state of emergency for the Greater metropolitan area. The previous record for the capital was 1,337, set on 31 December.

Coronavirus was found in air samples in Covid-19 wards of hospitals, which could be transiently air-borne, a study by Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and CSIR-Institute of Microbial…

Thailand Reports 365 New Infections | Thailand reported 365 new coronavirus infections and one new death on Wednesday, bringing its total to 9,331 cases and 66 fatalities since it first detected the virus early last year. 

Mizoram Reports 13 New Covid-19 Cases, Tally at 4,247 | At least 13 people, including two security personnel, tested positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram on Wednesday, raising the tally in the state to 4,247, a health department official said. All the fresh cases were reported from Aizawl district, he said. "Seven cases were detected through RT-PCR at Zoram Medical College (ZMC) and six through rapid antigen tests. Two security personnel of Assam Rifles and Border Security Force were among the new patients," the official said. 

Thane's COVID-19 Count Rises by 379, Death Toll by 9 | The COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra's Thane district has reached 2,44,950 with the addition of 379 new cases, an official said on Wednesday. Apart from these new cases recorded on Tuesday, nine patients succumbed to the viral infection, raising the COVID-19 death toll in the district to 5,994, he said. As of now, the COVID-19 fatality rate in the district is 2.45 per cent.

Today's Data Highlights

- 18k new cases, 21.3k new recoveries, 264 new deaths, 3.5k dip in active cases 

- 9.3 lakh tests on Tuesday. Tests below 10 lakh for the 4th day

- COVID-19 deaths cross the 1.5 lakh mark in India (India accounts for 8% of global deaths and 12% of total cases)

- Maharashtra accounts for 33% of total deaths in India, Tamil Nadu 8.11%, Karnataka 8.07%, Delhi 7.07%, West Bengal 6.56%

- New cases below 20k for the 5th consecutive day

- Tests below 10 lakh for the 5th consecutive day (9.31 lakh tests on Tuesday)

- Kerala reports 5.6k new cases, Maharashtra 3.2k, Chattisgarh 1k

- Maharashtra reports 64 new deaths, Chhattisgarh 25, Kerala 24

- Active cases in Karnataka now below 10k. Only 3 states now have more than 10k active cases 

- India's total recoveries likely to cross 1 crore today

Here's state-wise Covid-19 data

India Reports 18,088 New Covid-19 Cases, 264 Deaths | India reports 18,088 new COVID-19 cases, 21,314 recoveries, and 264 deaths in last 24 hours, as per Union Health Ministry. The total cases are 1,03,74,932, active cases are 2,27,546, total recoveries are 99,97,272, while the death toll reached 1,50,114. 

In a rare exception after over 50 years, India may not have any chief guest at Republic Day celebrations on January 26 after British PM Boris Johnson cancelled his scheduled visit citing the need to…

UPDATE | Brazil’s syringe manufacturers said on Tuesday they will supply 30 million syringes and needles for the country’s Covid-19 vaccination program after the government said it would requisition surplus supplies. Executives of the three main manufacturers met with President Jair Bolsonaro at the Health Ministry and it was agreed that each would supply 10 million syringes to cover the initial stages of the vaccination plan.

Bengal Reports 24 More Covid-19 Deaths, 812 Fresh Cases | The COVID-19 death toll in West Bengal rose to 9,841 after 24 more people succumbed to the disease on Tuesday, the state health department said in a bulletin. The tally mounted to 5,56,384 after 812 fresh cases of the infection were reported from various parts of the state, it said. Since Monday, 1,166 recoveries were reported in the state bettering the discharge rate to 96.56 per cent.

China Reports 32 New Covid-19 Cases | Mainland China reported 32 new Covid-19 cases on 5 January, down from 33 cases a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said on Wednesday. The National Health Commission said in statement nine of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas. A total of 23 new local infections were reported: 20 in Hebei province, one in the capital city of Beijing, one in Liaoning province, and one in Heilongjiang province.

Two hotels in Chennai had a slight increase in COVID19 cases but there also cases have come down drastically. Sample testing is being done across many hotels: Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Dr Radhakrishnan in Chennai. 

3 more people have tested positive for UK variant of Covid-19 in Chennai. So far, 4 people have tested positive for the new variant of the virus: Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Dr Radhakrishnan in Chennai yesterday pic.twitter.com/rEbhtJNVO7

— ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2021

China Steps Up Covid Measures, Enters 'Wartime Mode' | Chinese authorities say they are stepping up efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, seeking to avoid another wave of the pandemic in the country amid a rise in locally transmitted Covid-19 cases near Beijing, Reuters reports. The northeastern Hebei province surrounding Beijing on Tuesday entered a “wartime mode” after reporting its first local infections in more than six months. The province will set up investigation teams to trace the close contacts of those who have tested positive.

UPDATE | The first quarantine-free flight to the Australian state of Queensland from New Zealand is set to touch down in Brisbane on Thursday. Air New Zealand flight NZ147 is scheduled to depart Auckland at 7.40am local time for Brisbane with passengers not required to quarantine on arrival.

Mexico’s Reports 11,271 New Confirmed Cases | Mexico’s health ministry on Tuesday reported 11,271 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,065 additional fatalities in the country, bringing the total to 1,466,490 infections and 128,822 deaths. The latest daily death toll was one of the highest since the start of the pandemic.

Germany Extends, Toughens Partial Lockdown to End-January | Germany prolonged and toughened its partial lockdown with stricter limits on social contacts, as Europe's top economy struggles to curb stubbornly high coronavirus infections. Schools, leisure and sporting facilities, and non-essential shops will remain shut through to January 31, Chancellor Angela Merkel said after talks with leaders of Germany's 16 states.

A day after Bharat Biotech slammed Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla for his 'water' comment, both vaccine makers on Tuesday jointly pledged for a smooth rollout of the antidote, saying…

Australia to Bring Forward Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout Plans | Australia will bring forward its COVID-19 vaccine rollout plans by two weeks to early March, health authorities said on Wednesday as the country seeks to contain fresh cases in its two largest cities. Australia has repeatedly resisted pressure to expedite its vaccination distribution timetable, citing low coronavirus cases in the country though new clusters in Sydney and Melbourne have sparked fears of a wider outbreak.

COVID Vaccination Voluntary, Antibodies Develop 2 Weeks after Second Dose: AIIMS Director | Getting immunised against COVID-19 will be a voluntary exercise and it is important that both dozes of the vaccine be administered to an individual for developing better immune response against the disease, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria has said. Protective levels of antibodies generally develop two weeks after receiving the second dose, he said. The senior pulmonologist also stressed that the vaccine introduced in India will be as effective as any vaccine developed by other countries. 

China Blocks Entry to WHO Team Studying Covid's Origins | China has blocked the arrival of a team from the World Health Organization investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, claiming that their visas had not yet been approved even as some members of the group were on their way. The WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed his dismay and said he had called on China to allow the team in. “I’m very disappointed with this news, given that two members have already begun their journeys, and others were not able to travel at the last minute,” he said.

India will likely see the first shots against Covid-19 administered outside clinical trials by January 14.

UK PM Promises Daily Vaccine Updates as COVID-19 Cases Top 60,000 for 1st time | UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday promised to give daily updates on the country's vaccination programme to protect the most vulnerable groups from COVID-19 as the daily coronavirus infections hit a new record figure of 60,196 for the first time since the pandemic began last year. Addressing a press briefing, Johnson revealed that the National Health Service (NHS) has completed vaccinating 1.3 million people with the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca jabs, and that rollout will continue to be further accelerated as the main route out of the lockdown.

Bengal Reports 24 More Covid-19 Deaths, 812 Fresh Cases | The COVID-19 death toll in West Bengal rose to 9,841 after 24 more people succumbed to the disease on Tuesday, the state health department said in a bulletin. The tally mounted to 5,56,384 after 812 fresh cases of the infection were reported from various parts of the state, it said. Since Monday, 1,166 recoveries were reported in the state bettering the discharge rate to 96.56 per cent. Altogether 5,37,250 people have so far been cured of the disease in West Bengal, the bulletin said.