Coronavirus Live News: India sees single day surge in new cases, 11,451 fresh infections detected today

We have completed over 7 crore vaccination today...It's a mass movement, will continue till late night...Hoping to achieve over 8 crore vaccination target after December: Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey (PTI)

Haryana recorded 18 fresh Covid cases, pushing the infection tally to 7,71,326 on Sunday, a health bulletin said.The death toll remained at 10,050 as no new fatality was reported.Of the new cases, eight were reported from Gurgaon and six from Rohtak, among others.There are 89 active cases in the state, while 7,61,164 people have recuperated from the infection.The recovery rate was 98.68 per cent in the state, the bulletin said. (PTI)

Tamil Nadu witnessed 850 fresh coronavirus infections pushing the overall tally to 27.09 lakh while the toll rose to 36,220 with six additional deaths, the health department said on Sunday.Recoveries outnumbered new infections with 958 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 26,62,386 leaving 10,474 active infections, a medical bulletin said.A total of 1,01,825 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined to 5.19 crore till date.Chennai accounted for the majority of new infections with 129, while the remaining was scattered across other districts. Total fatalities in the state capital due to Covid-19 stood at 8,562.As many as 17 districts reported new infections below 10, while Tenkasi recorded the least with one, the bulletin said.Meanwhile, the health department announced several initiatives in the wake of heavy rainfall recorded in several parts of the state over the last 24 hours.According to Principal Secretary for Health and Family Welfare department, J Radhakrishnan, the public health machinery has been directed to set up adequate number of health camps along with local bodies to cover all relief camps in areas affected by the incessant rains. The state government said 5,106 relief camps have been set up in all the districts of the state."In close coordination with the health authorities in Chennai Corporation, neighbouring districts and other places experiencing rains, all mapped areas have been covered by the public health authorities and health services have been extended and situation was being monitored round the clock," the message said.A 24x7 call centre has been established at the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Chennai to serve people who can dial the numbers 044-29510400, 044-29510500, 9444340496 and 8754448477 seeking health related issues.Hospitals should ensure that there is no water-logging in the premises and wherever noticed should initiate clearance by pumping it out, involving public welfare department maintenance wing officials.'All vaccines and medicines should be moved to higher floors and there should be round the clock presence of plumbers, generator technicians.The hospitals should ensure that the hospital emergency, trauma care, neonatal care services does not get affected, the message said. (PTI)

Chhattisgarh's coronavirus caseload rose to 10,06,172 on Sunday as 13 people tested positive for the infection, a health official said.No fatality due to the virus was reported in the state during the day and the death toll remained unchanged at 13,584.The number of recoveries in the state rose to 9,92,344 after eight patients were discharged from hospitals, while 20 others completed their home isolation during the day.There are 244 active COVID-19 cases in Chhattisgarh now.'Durg district recorded four new cases, while two districts, including Raipur, recorded three cases each. Three districts, including Korba, saw one case each, while no fresh case was reported in 22 districts,' he said.As 9,333 samples were tested during the day, the cumulative test count of the state went up to 13,745,891, the official said.Chhattisgarh's coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases 10,06,172, new cases 13, death toll 13,584, recoveries 9,92,344, active cases 244, total tests 13,745,891. (PTI)

Karnataka reported 239 new COVID-19 cases and five deaths on Sunday, taking the total number of infections to 29,89,952 and the toll to 38,112.The day also saw 322 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 29,43,809, a health department bulletin said. Bengaluru Urban topped in the number of cases (151), as the city saw 150 discharges and two deaths.The total number of active cases in the state is 8,002.While the positivity rate for the day stood at 0.21 per cent, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 2.09 per cent.

Out of five deaths reported on Sunday, two each were from Bengaluru Urban and Mysuru and one from Belagavi.

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 151, Mysuru 17, Uttara Kannada and Hassan 12, Dakshina Kannada 11, followed by others.

Bengaluru Urban district topped the list of positive cases, with a total of 12,52,831, followed by Mysuru 1,79,297 and Tumakuru 1,20,891.

Among discharges too, Bengaluru Urban was on top with 12,30,170, followed by Mysuru 1,76,668 and Tumakuru 1,19,524.

Cumulatively a total of 5,13,87,155 samples have been tested in the state so far, out of which 1,10,220 were on Sunday alone. (PTI)

Telangana on Sunday recorded 122 fresh COVID-19 cases and two related fatalities taking the total number of positives in the state to 6,72,489 and the toll to 3,966.The number of active cases stood at 3,764, a state government bulletin said.The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation reported the highest number of 46 cases followed by Rangareddy district 10.A total of 25,847 samples were tested on Sunday. Cumulatively, the number of samples tested was 2.77 crore.A total of 171 COVID-19 recoveries were reported on Sunday taking the total number of recoveries to 6,64,759.The recovery rate and case fatality rate in the state was 98.85 per cent and 0.58 per cent, the bulletin said. (PTI) 

Maharashtra on Sunday reported 892 new coronavirus positive cases, which raised the state's infection tally to 66,17,654, while the death of 16 patients took the toll to 1,40,388, the health department said.A total of 1,063 patients recuperated and were discharged from hospitals during the day, taking the overall recovery count to 64,59,108. With this, there are 14,526 active cases in the state at present.As many as 65,716 people were tested across the state on Sunday. This took its cumulative test count to 6,32,40,769.Mumbai city reported 252 new cases and three deaths, which pushed its tally to 7,58,467 and toll to 16,276.Mumbai division, which comprises the metropolis and its satellite towns, reported 435 cases and four deaths on Sunday. The division's caseload now stands at 17,03,941 and fatality count at 35,608.Pune division logged 244 cases, including 200 in Pune district alone, while Nashik division reported 141 new cases, including 91 in Ahmednagar district.Kolhapur division recorded 29 cases, Latur division 21 cases, Aurangabad division 13 cases, Nagpur division six cases and Akola division three cases.Maharashtra's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 66,17,654, death toll 1,40,388, recoveries 64,59,108, active 14,526, total test count 6,32,40,769. (PTI) 

The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 7,92,907 on Sunday with the addition of seven cases, while the total death toll remained unchanged at 10,524, an official said. The recovery count stood at 7,82,283, with 13 people being discharged during the day, leaving Madhya Pradesh with 100 active cases, he said. With 34,362 samples being examined during the day, the number of tests in MP went up to 2,05,92,458, the official added. An official release said 7,15,78,267 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in MP so far, including 59,680 on Sunday. Coronavirus figures in MP are as follows: Total cases 7,92,907, new cases 06, death toll 10,524, recovered 7,82,283, active cases 100, number of tests so far 2,05,92,458. (PTI)

Active COVID-19 cases in West Bengal dipped below the 8,000-mark again on Sunday, after a gap of 10 days, with the state recording 723 new infections and 774 recoveries, a bulletin issued by the health department said. The state had recorded 7,973 active cases on October 27, and numbers rose over the days that followed, the bulletin stated. On Saturday, 8,029 active cases were registered. The tally, taking into account the latest infections, rose to 15,98,488. Eleven more deaths due to the disease were reported, which pushed the toll to 19,226. North 24 Parganas logged four fatalities, followed by two each in Kolkata and South 24 Parganas. Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Howrah recorded one death each, the bulletin said. Kolkata reported the highest number of fresh cases in the state at 205 new cases as against 181 on Saturday, according to the data. North 24 Parganas logged 146 new cases, 20 more than the previous day, the bulletin said. As many as 15,71,295 patients have been discharged from various hospitals of the state so far, following their recovery from the infectious disease. The positivity rate stood at 2.40 per cent and the recovery rate at 98.30 per cent. A total of 1,94,69,502 samples have been tested in West Bengal thus far, including 30,124 since Saturday, the bulletin added. (PTI)

Sikkim's COVID-19 tally rose to 32,042 on Sunday as three more persons tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said.

East Sikkim registered two new cases, followed by one in West Sikkim.

The state had reported nine fresh COVID-19 cases and one fatality due to the infection on Saturday.

The Himalayan state now has 135 active cases, while 31,176 people have recovered from the disease, and 332 patients have migrated to other states.

Sikkim's COVID-19 death toll remained at 399 as no fatality was reported in the past 24 hours.

The state has thus far tested over 2.62 lakh samples for COVID-19, including 106 in the last 24 hours.

Sikkim's positivity rate and recovery rates are 2.8 per cent and 98.3 per cent respectively. (PTI) 

Karnataka reported 239 new COVID-19 cases and five deaths on Sunday, taking the total number of infections to 29,89,952 and the toll to 38,112. The day also saw 322 discharges, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 29,43,809, a health department bulletin said. Bengaluru Urban topped in the number of cases (151), as the city saw 150 discharges and two deaths. The total number of active cases in the state is 8,002. While the positivity rate for the day stood at 0.21 per cent, the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) was 2.09 per cent. Out of five deaths reported on Sunday, two each were from Bengaluru Urban and Mysuru and one from Belagavi. Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 151, Mysuru 17, Uttara Kannada and Hassan 12, Dakshina Kannada 11, followed by others. Bengaluru Urban district topped the list of positive cases, with a total of 12,52,831, followed by Mysuru 1,79,297 and Tumakuru 1,20,891. Among discharges too, Bengaluru Urban was on top with 12,30,170, followed by Mysuru 1,76,668 and Tumakuru 1,19,524. Cumulatively a total of 5,13,87,155 samples have been tested in the state so far, out of which 1,10,220 were on Sunday alone. (PTI)

Telangana on Sunday recorded 122 fresh COVID-19 cases and two related fatalities taking the total number of positives in the state to 6,72,489 and the toll to 3,966. The number of active cases stood at 3,764, a state government bulletin said. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation reported the highest number of 46 cases followed by Rangareddy district 10. A total of 25,847 samples were tested on Sunday. Cumulatively, the number of samples tested was 2.77 crore. A total of 171 COVID-19 recoveries were reported on Sunday taking the total number of recoveries to 6,64,759. The recovery rate and case fatality rate in the state was 98.85 per cent and 0.58 per cent, the bulletin said. (PTI)

Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan visited several houses in Karuvadikuppam and Muthialpet near here on Sunday and persuaded the residents to get the vaccine against the pandemic. Accompanied by a team of doctors and nursing staff, she walked through residential areas and met the residents at their doorsteps. After getting details of the residents who have not got the jab, she ensured they got the shots by calling on them.

A woman told the Lieutenant Governor that the former would get vaccinated some days later as she would be flying to the US shortly. "If you want to go the US you should definitely get the vacccine lest you face difficulty getting the visa," the Lieutenant Governor told the woman but the latter said, "Not now." Soundararajan then moved on.

A girl doing undergraduation was among those who got vaccinated at their doorstep at Karuvadikuppam after being briefed by Soundararajan.

A worker in a private concern told her during her visit to his house that as he was on duty at the factory for most part of the day and that he could not get the vaccination. "Don`t worry. We have come to your house today, take the vaccine," Soundararajan told the worker.

He and the other members in the family got the jab. The Lieutenant Governor visited between 20 and 25 houses, assured one resident that the doctors would visit her again and give her medicines for asthma she complained of.

At one of the houses, the resident asked Soundararajan to get in for a cup of coffee. "You have not taken the jab till now, so I won't take the coffee," she told the resident.

At the same time, Soundarajan appreciated those who had already taken the vaccine and those who took it today. She told reporters later that Puducherry should emerge as a totally vaccinated Union Territory. The Health Department has been conducting camps and special drives to achieve that goal. A total of 1.5 lakh people were yet to get inoculated.  (PTI)

Kerala reports 7,124 new COVID cases, 7,488 recoveries, and 21 deaths today

Active cases: 72,310Total recoveries: 49,08,857Death toll: 33,716 (ANI) 

After crossing the 50-lakh mark in the total COVID-19 cases two days ago, Kerala recorded 7,124 fresh coronavirus infections and 201-related deaths which raised the caseload to 50,15,505 and the fatalities to 33,716. With 7,488 more people recovering from the virus since Saturday, the total recoveries touched 49,08,857 and the active cases reached 72,310 on Sunday, an official press release said. Of the 201 deaths, 21 were reported over the last few days, 153 were those which were not confirmed until June 18 last year due to lack of adequate documentation and 27 were designated as COVID deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and Supreme Court directions, the release said. As many as 65,306 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. Among the 14 districts, Ernakulam recorded the highest with 1,061 cases followed by Thiruvananthapuram (1,052) and Thrissur (726). Of the new cases, 29 were health workers, 23 from outside the State and 6,713 infected through contact with the source of it not being clear in 359. There are currently 2,35,910 people under surveillance in various districts, of whom 2,29,289 are in home or institutional quarantine and 6,621 in hospitals. (PTI)

Delhi reports 47 new COVID cases, 33 recoveries, and zero deaths today

Active cases: 365Total recoveries: 14,14,662Death toll: 25,091 (ANI) 

Delhi reports 47 new COVID cases, 33 recoveries, and zero deaths today

Active cases: 365Total recoveries: 14,14,662Death toll: 25,091

(ANI)

Andhra Pradesh's COVID-19 tally went up to 20,68,241 as 320 fresh cases were added in 24 hours ending 9 am on Sunday.

The gross recoveries crossed the 20.50 lakh mark to 20,50,386 after 425 infected persons got cured in a day, a health department bulletin said.

Five more persons succumbed to the infection, taking the total toll to 14,397.

The number of active cases slid to 3,458, the bulletin added.

In 24 hours, Chittoor reported 67, Krishna 41, West Godavari 39, Visakhapatnam 36, Guntur 32 and East Godavari 31 fresh cases.

The remaining seven districts added less than 20 new cases each, with Anantapuramu reporting the lowest of four.

Guntur district reported two, Krishna, Prakasam and Visakhapatnam districts one more Covid-19 death each in a day. (PTI) 

Britain will start to roll out Merck's molnupiravir COVID-19 antiviral pill through a drug trial later this month, Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at the UK Health Security Agency said on Sunday. Last week Britain became the first country in the world to approve the potentially game-changing COVID-19 antiviral pill, jointly developed by U.S.-based Merck & Co Inc and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. The government said in October it had secured 480,000 courses of the Merck drug, as well as 250,000 courses of an antiviral pill developed by Pfizer Inc. Asked about the molnupiravir approval, Hopkins told BBC television: "That is great news and it will start to be rolled out through a drug trial in the end of this month/the beginning of December." Hopkins said all the trials so far had been done with the unvaccinated, so this would help understand how it will work in the wider vaccinated population. "The new Pfizer drug is probably not going to be licensed until the new year some time," she added. "It is still likely to be a couple of months away." (Reuters)

Australia's largest city of Sydney will further ease social distancing curbs on Monday, a month after emerging from a coronavirus lockdown that lasted nearly 100 days, as close to 90% of people have got both doses of vaccine, officials said.Although limited to people who are fully inoculated, the relaxation in the state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, lifts limits on house guests or outdoor gatherings, among other measures."We're leading the nation out of the pandemic," said state premier Dominic Perrottet, as he called for a "final push" to reach, and even surpass, a milestone of 95% vaccinations.Several hundred people held an anti-vaccine protest on Sunday in the state's capital of Sydney, but such opposition is slight in Australia, where polls show vaccination opponents number in the single digits.The southeastern state of Victoria recorded the majority of Australia's 1,417 new coronavirus cases, with public health figures showing 10 more deaths. - Reuters

The frequency of the new AY.4.2 variant of COVID-19 is less than 0.1 percent of all VOI/VOC and is too low to be of concern at this time, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) said. Its weekly bulletin said the vaccine effectiveness does not seem to be different for AY.4.2 when compared to other Delta variants. The INSACOG said that AY.4.2 variant of COVID-19 is less than 0.1 percent of all of all variants of concern and variant of interest (VOC/VOI) and is too low to be of concern at this time. "There is currently no biological basis for increased transmissibility of AY.4.2, as judged epidemiologically, and assays are in progress," it said. The INSACOG noted that Delta (B.1.617.2 and AY.x) continues to be the main variant of concern (VOC) in India and no new variant of interest (VOI) or VOC are noted in India. - PTI

As COVID-19 ravaged Hungary in April, Budapest resident Akos Sipos received his second vaccine dose, believing he was doing the right thing for his own health and to help end the pandemic. But Sipos, 46, soon discovered that the vaccine he received, Russia's Sputnik V, disqualified him from traveling to a number of other countries where it hadn't been approved. The nations include the United States, which is pushing forward with a new air travel policy that will make Sipos and many like him ineligible to enter. ‘I thought it's better to get Sputnik today than a Western vaccine at some uncertain future time," Sipos, who works as a search engine optimization specialist, said of his initial decision to receive the jab. "But I couldn't have known at that time that I wouldn't be able to travel with Sputnik.’ Starting Monday, the United States plans to reopen to foreign travelers who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. But there's a catch: non-immigrant adults need to have received vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration or which received an emergency use listing from the World Health Organization. - AP

Odisha on Sunday registered 318 new cases taking the state's COVID-19 caseload to 10,43,469 while three fresh fatalities pushed the coronavirus death toll to 8,357, a health department official said. The new cases included 58 children and adolescents. The rate of infection among people in the age group of 0 to 18 years now stands at 18.23 per cent against the previous day's 11.05 per cent. The state had reported 208 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, 170 on Friday and 351 on Thursday. Of the 318 new cases, 186 were from quarantine centres while the remaining 132 were local contacts. Khurda district of which Bhubaneswar is a part, recorded the highest of 139 cases, followed by Cuttack (31). Khurda district alone accounted for above 43 per cent of the state's daily caseload. Six other districts reported nil cases. With 318 people testing positive for the infection out of 62,842 samples tested, the state's daily test positivity rate (TPR) now is 0.50 per cent. The TPR was 0.40 per cent on Saturday and 0.30 on Friday. - PTI

Singapore has reported emerging cases of a rare virus-linked paediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome amidst rising number of COVID-19 cases as it tries to arrest the spread of the contagion. The country reported 3,035 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and 12 deaths due to complications linked to the coronavirus. Four infections are among over 8,000 paediatric COVID-19 cases that are "considered rare" and are emerging since the start of the pandemic, the Health Ministry said in the statement. All four, age ranging from two months to eight years, were admitted to hospital between October and November this year, according to media reports. Of these four cases, one four-year-old is in the children's intensive care unit (CICU) breathing with the support mechanical ventilation, one is in a general ward and two have been discharged. - PTI

The union territory of Puducherry registered 35 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, a senior official of the Department of Health said on Sunday. The new cases were detected at the end of the examination of 2,534 samples pushing the overall tally to 1,28,200, Director of the Health Department G Sriramulu said in a release. The 35 fresh infections were spread over Puducherry (14), Karaikal (12), Mahe (5) and Yanam (4). No fresh fatality was reported from any of the four regions-Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam- in the last 24 hours and the death toll remained at 1,862, the Health department Director said. - PTI

Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 55,180 as four more persons tested positive for the infection, two more than the previous day, a senior health official said here on Sunday. The total number of recoveries in the state rose to 54,840 as five more persons recuperated from the disease on Saturday, the official said. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the state now is 99.38 per cent, while the active percentage is 0.11, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. The COVID-19 death toll in the frontier state remained at 280 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours, the SSO said. Arunachal Pradesh now has 60 active COVID-19 cases. - PTI

Grammy-winning singer Ed Sheeran has recovered from COVID-19 and has revealed that his one-year-old daughter Lyra, whom he shares with wife Cherry Seaborn, also tested positive for the virus at the time. The British singer-songwriter had shared his diagnosis late last month and in a recent interview with Howard Stern, he detailed his experience with the coronavirus. "I tested for COVID and I announced it a couple days afterwards because I had to cancel [some] stuff. As soon as I got a cold, I just started testing every single day. I was just like, I want to make sure I don't have it,” said Sheeran. - PTI

Ladakh recorded 27 new cases of coronavirus, pushing the overall virus tally to 21,033 and active cases to 114, officials said on Sunday. The Union Territory has so far registered 209 Covid-related deaths -- 151 in Leh and 58 in Kargil -- since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. The officials said a total of 1,179 people were tested for COVID-19 in the twin districts on Saturday and 27 of them returned positive in Leh. Four coronavirus infected patients were discharged from a hospital in Leh, taking the number of recoveries in Ladakh to 20,710, they said. The officials said the active cases in Ladakh have risen to 114 with 110 in Leh and four in Kargil. No Covid-related death was reported on Saturday, the officials said. - PTI

Bengal's COVID-19 pandemic scenario improved slightly with 670 fresh cases reported from different parts of the state taking the caseload in the state to 15,97,765, the health department said. The state had reported 763 new cases of the contagion on Friday and 918 cases the day before. The city also witnessed a decline in COVID infection as 181 fresh cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the department said in a bulletin. On Friday, the city had accounted for 203 new cases and 228 on Thursday. The bulletin said the positivity rate of the disease too slipped to 2.21 per cent from Friday's 2.53 per cent. The number of deaths, however, rose slightly as 14 fatalities were reported from the state with the city accounting for four, South 24 Parganas district three and North 24 Parganas and East Bardhaman districts two each. - PTI

India saw a single-day rise of 10,853 COVID-19 infections, which took the country's total tally of cases to 3,43,55,536, while active cases have declined to 1,44,845, the lowest in 260 days, according to Union health ministry data updated on Sunday. The death toll has climbed to 4,60,791 with 526 more fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 30 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 133 consecutive days now, the ministry said. The active cases have declined to 1,44,845, comprising 0.42 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March last year, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.24 per cent, the highest since March last year, it said. The data stated that a decrease of 2,105 cases has been recorded in active COVID-19 cases in a span of 24 hours. - PTI