Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: India to start exporting Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from today

Coronavirus Live updates: Two more Australian Open players test positive for COVID-19

Two more Australian Open players have tested positive for COVID-19, government officials said on Wednesday, as authorities were at cross-purposes over who would pay for the tournament’s quarantine bill. Victoria state police minister Lisa Neville said two players and a non-playing Australian Open participant comprised three new infections reported on Wednesday.

A total of 10 people associated with the Grand Slam, including four players, have now tested positive for the virus. There has been some confusion over the exact numbers, with authorities’ test results later being reclassified as “viral shedding” from previous infections. The viral shedders are not contagious.

Coronavirus Live updates: US exceeds 400,000 coronavirus deaths

The U.S. coronavirus death toll topped 400,000 on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally, as the country hardest hit by the pandemic struggled to meet the demand for vaccines to stem the spread of infection. States including Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Carolina and Vermont have shown signs of vaccine supply strain and are asking for more doses of both approved vaccines, one from Pfizer-BioNTech and the other from Moderna.

The number of deaths has spiked since Christmas. During the past three weeks, U.S. coronavirus fatalities have totaled 63,793 compared with 52,715 deaths in the three weeks prior to Christmas, an increase of 21%, according to a Reuters analysis.

Coronavirus Live updates: India dispatches 1.5 lakh doses of vaccine as gift to Bhutan

As a gift from India, the first consignment of 1.5 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield' was dispatched to Thimphu, Bhutan from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai in the wee hours of Wednesday. According to the sources, a consignment containing 1,50,000 doses of Covishield will reach Thimphu today. Bhutan is the first country to receive the Government of India's gift of the COVID vaccines, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).

In line with India-Bhutan unique and special relations, India ensured a continuous supply of trade and essential items to Bhutan, despite COVID-19 restrictions. India so far has provided essential medicines and medical supplies- including paracetamol, hydroxychloroquine, PPEs, N95 masks, x-ray machines and test kits worth over Rs 2.8 cores to Bhutan. It also entered into an "Air Travel Arrangement" or "Transport Bubble" agreement with Bhutan.

India has facilitated the repatriation of over 2,000 Bhutanese nationals stranded in various parts of India. It also facilitated the repatriation of 14 Bhutanese nationals stranded in third countries through Vande Bharat flights to India and their onward journey to Bhutan, sources said.

Coronavirus Live updates: India urges frontline workers not to refuse vaccines as targets missed

India appealed to frontline workers on Tuesday not to refuse vaccines for COVID-19, after almost all states failed to meet their targets in the first few days of one of the world’s biggest immunisation campaigns. The country has so far vaccinated 631,417 frontline workers with two shots manufactured locally, one developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, and another developed at home by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the state-run India Council of Medical Research.

The programme started on Saturday, with 30 million healthcare and other front-line workers first in the queue. The health ministry said India inoculated more people on its first day than the United States, Britain and France did. But it said it expected a greater number of volunteers to come forward, especially in major states like Tamil Nadu and Punjab that are lagging behind other states.

Vinod K. Paul, who heads a government committee on vaccine strategy, told a news conference that health workers who failed to take vaccine doses that had been set aside for them were not fulfilling their “societal responsibility”. “Please understand the whole world is clamouring for vaccines,” he said. “If our healthcare workers, our doctors and nurses, if they are declining to take it, I feel sorry,” he said. “I plead with them, on behalf of the government, because we don’t know what shape this pandemic will take going forward.

Coronavirus Live updates: India to start COVID vaccine exports on Wednesday

India will start exporting COVID-19 vaccines from Wednesday, paving the way for many mid- and lower-income countries to get supplies of the easy-to-store Oxford/AstraZeneca drug, of which it said it plans to ship millions of doses within days. Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine producer, told Reuters last week it soon expected emergency use authorisation from the World Health Organization (WHO) for that vaccine, which SII has been licensed to make.

The foreign ministry said shipments would start on Wednesday following requests from “neighbouring and key partner countries”. Officials said the first doses would go to Bhutan and Maldives. Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and the Seychelles will also get supplies in this week’s first phase, the ministry said.

The Bangladesh foreign ministry said it expected to receive a gift of two million doses on Thursday. The country of 160 million, which has yet to start its vaccination programme, has ordered a further 30 million doses, officials said.

Coronavirus Live updates: Germany extends lockdown to February 14 on fears of COVID-19 variants

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and state premiers agreed on Tuesday to extend a lockdown for most shops and schools until February 14 as part of a package of steps to try to rein in the coronavirus. They also agreed to mandate medical masks, rather than simple cotton ones, on public transportation and in stores. The existing lockdown runs until January 31.

“Now is the time to take preventive measures against the threat of this virus,” Merkel told reporters after a meeting with the premiers of Germany’s 16 federal states. New infections have been decreasing in recent days and pressure on intensive care units has eased slightly, but virologists are worried about the possible spread of more infectious variants of the virus.

Merkel said all countries in Europe must make similar efforts to fight the pandemic. Otherwise, Germany may consider restricting border entry to avoid highly transmissible strains being brought in from abroad. She and the state leaders also agreed that companies must allow employees to work from home until March 15 where possible, Merkel said.

Aid for hard-hit companies is to be improved, and retailers’ writedowns on seasonal goods – which could include winter coats or ski equipment – will be taken into account. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases had risen by 11,369 to 2.05 million, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday. The death toll was up 989 to 47,622.

Coronavirus Live updates: Germany warns of border closures amid fear of COVID-19 mutations

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that Germany may need to consider border crossing curbs if other European countries do not act to halt the spread of the coronavirus, particularly its new, more transmissible variants. "We can do anything we like, but we will not succeed if others are not working in parallel," Merkel told journalists on Tuesday, two days ahead of a videoconference of European leaders. "We need to make sure that everyone around us is doing the same. Otherwise we have to look at measures such as entry restrictions."

Her comments came after she and leaders of Germany's 16 states agreed to extend for another two weeks a lockdown for most shops and schools until February 14. New infections have been falling in recent days and pressure on intensive care units has eased slightly, but virologists, pointing to the situation in Britain, with Europe's highest COVID-19 death toll, warn the mutants could undo all progress.

Germany shares borders with nine countries, and there are growing concerns about infection rates in some of them, including Czech Republic, where commuter traffic is heavy. Most schools will remain closed, despite opposition, given evidence that some new variants are more transmissible among children, Merkel said.

Coronavirus Vaccine LIVE Updates | India to start COVID vaccine exports today

India will start exporting COVID-19 vaccines from Wednesday, paving the way for many mid- and lower-income countries to get supplies of the easy-to-store Oxford/AstraZeneca drug, of which it said it plans to ship millions of doses within days. Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest vaccine producer, told Reuters last week it soon expected emergency use authorisation from the World Health Organization (WHO) for that vaccine, which SII has been licensed to make. The foreign ministry said shipments would start on Wednesday following requests from "neighbouring and key partner countries".

Coronavirus in United States LIVE Updates | US death toll from COVID-19 passes 400,000

The US death toll from the coronavirus has topped 4,00,000 in the final hours of Donald Trumps presidency. The milestone comes almost exactly a year after health officials diagnosed the nations first case of the virus, and after months of efforts by Trump to downplay the threat and his administrations responsibility to confront it. The number of dead is about equal to the population of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Tampa, Florida; or New Orleans. (AP)

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The COVID-19 outbreak has spread across 191 countries and territories. Today is the 302nd day since India implemented a nationwide lockdown.

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