Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: Active Covid Cases in India Lowest in 267 Days; 12.5k Infections, 501 Deaths in 24 Hours

With an aim to inoculate 100 per cent of its 91.44 million citizens by November 30 against Covid-19, the Maharashtra government recently requested the Central government to reduce the gap between two doses of vaccines. By reducing the gap, the state government intends to speed up the process of vaccination. State public health minister Rajesh Tope, during a virtual meeting, urged union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya to consider reducing the gap between the two dosages of the Covishield vaccine. READ MORE

Madhya Pradesh administration is all occupied achieving an uphill task of inoculating over 2.5 crore eligible population with the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of 2021. The efforts of the state’s mega campaigns to boost vaccination in single-day drives are paying off. On November 10, the state topped the vaccination list among all states by administering over 14 lakh doses in a single day, the publicity department of the MP government announced on Thursday. On the same day, over 93 lakh received the first dose. READ MORE

The fourth wave of Covid-19 has taken hold in Germany, as the country rushes to placate its debilitating effects. Chancellor Angela Merkel has asked unvaccinated people to get the jab, calling it a “duty to the rest of society to protect others”. Coronavirus case numbers have surged across Europe in recent weeks, with experts worrying that health systems risk once again being overwhelmed, in part because unvaccinated people are still spreading the disease to the older and more vulnerable. READ MORE

India logged 12,516 new coronavirus infections, taking the country’s total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,44,14,186, while the active cases declined to 1,37,416, the lowest in 267 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday. The death toll climbed to 4,62,690 with 501 fresh fatalities, including 419 from Kerala, according to the data updated at 8 am. Of the 419 deaths in Kerala, 47 were reported in the last few days and 372 were designated as Covid deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and Supreme Court directions, a Kerala government release said on Thursday. The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 35 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 138 consecutive days now. The active cases comprise 0.40 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.26 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

Covaxin was assessed on “exactly the same” criteria as other vaccines, the World Health Organisation told News18.com, refuting the claims of Bharat Biotech’s chief Dr Krishna Ella who had questioned the “excessive” scrutiny. In an emailed response to the queries sent by News18.com, WHO replied that “The emergency use listing process is a neutral, technically rigorous process and non-political, with independent regulatory experts contributing to evaluations and advising WHO.” READ MORE

India is in the process of formulating a policy document that will decide when to administer the third dose or the booster shot of Covid-19, according to Dr NK Arora, co-chair of INSACOG and a key member of India’s Covid task force. Arora asked the public to wait for the booster shot, instead of rushing to take it urgently, so that they can receive certification. READ MORE

A total of 12,516 new Covid-19 cases, and 501 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours in India.

The Dutch government on Thursday was considering whether to impose Western Europe’s first partial lockdown since the summer, as new coronavirus cases jumped to the highest level since the start of the pandemic. A surge in infections that started when social distancing measures were lifted late September has put pressure on hospitals throughout the country, forcing them to scale back regular care to treat COVID-19 patients.

People who are still not vaccinated as the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic takes hold in Germany must understand they have a duty to the rest of society to protect others, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. Merkel, speaking at the invitation of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at an Asia-Pacific business summit, said it was the task of politicians to make the case for serious interventions by being honest with the public. Coronavirus case numbers have surged across Europe in recent weeks, with experts worrying that health systems risk once again being overwhelmed, in part because unvaccinated people are still spreading the disease to the older and more vulnerable. “We have to make it clear that I have the right to get vaccinated, and that is a great fortune, a huge achievement of science and technology,” Merkel said over a video link. “But I also have a certain obligation to contribute to protecting society.”

India’s homegrown Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, developed by government’s medical research agency and Bharat Biotech International Ltd, was found to have a 77.8% efficacy rate against the symptomatic version of the disease in a long-awaited analysis published in The Lancet. Covaxin, which uses traditional, inactivated-virus technology, “induces a robust antibody response” two weeks after two doses are given, The Lancet said in a statement. No severe-vaccine-related deaths or adverse events were recorded during a randomized trial involving 24,419 participants aged 18-97 years between Nov. 2020 and May 2021 in India, it said.

Himachal Pradesh recorded 10 coronavirus-related fatalities on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 3,783, while 145 fresh cases pushed the infection count to 2,25,464, an official said. Three fresh deaths were reported from Una, two each from Kangra, Mandi and Shimla and one from Hamirpur. Besides, 168 more patients recovered from the infection, taking the recovery count to 2,20,536, the health official said. The number of active COVID-19 cases now stands at 1,128 in the state.

Haryana reported no COVID-related death, while it added 20 new infections on Thursday, pushing the total case count in the state to 7,71,388, a government bulletin stated. According to the health department’s daily bulletin, the death toll remained unchanged at 10,050. Among the districts, 12 cases were reported from Gurgaon. The total active cases in the state were 107 while the overall recoveries was 7,61,208. The recovery rate stood at 98.68 percent, the bulletin said.

Over 12 crore people in India are due for their second dose of Covid vaccine, according to Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who urged states to work together to ensure no citizen is left without vaccine protection. The number of people who have missed the second dose has increased, according to Dr V K Paul, member health in Niti Aayog and a key expert in the vaccination programme, who stated on October 20 that the number of people who have missed the second dose now stands at 10 crore.

Chhattisgarh’s COVID-19 case tally rose to 10,06,271 on Thursday as 26 new infections came to light, a health official said. No fresh fatality was reported due to the pandemic. The death toll remained unchanged at 13,587. The number of recoveries rose to 9,92,468 after 15 people were discharged from hospitals while 18 others completed their home isolation during the day. The number of active cases stood at 216. Raipur district recorded 11 new cases while Korba district recorded three cases. Three districts including Durg recorded two cases each.

The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 110.74 crore on Thursday, the Union Health Ministry said. More than 48 lakh (48,76,535) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm, it said. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late night, it said. The vaccination exercise as a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry underlined. The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers (HCWs) getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started from February 2.

Nagaland on Thursday reported a seven fresh COVID-19 cases, three less than in the previous day, taking the caseload due to the pandemic to 31,966, a government official said. Of the seven fresh cases, six were detected from Dimapur district and one in Kohima district. With no fatality due to the disease during the day, the toll stood at 692, the official said. At least six positive patients recuperated from the infection on Thursday taking the total number of recoveries to 30,052, the official said.

West Bengal reported 854 new COVID-19 cases and 13 more deaths on Thursday, as per the state health department. Kolkata reported most of the new cases at 236, it said. With four fatalities, South 24 Parganas district recorded the highest number of deaths. Three people died in North 24 Parganas, and two people each lost their lives in Kolkata and Nadia, it added. The state’s positivity rate rose to 2.12 per cent from 2.02 per cent a day ago, the health department said.