Highlights: Moscow aims to vaccinate 7 mn as Russia sees record rise in cases

Pakistan has reported 3,308 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, taking the total cases of infections in the nation to 416,499, the health ministry said on Sunday. The Ministry of National Health Services also said that 58 more people died, taking the total deaths due to the contagious disease to 8,361.

“The cases of coronavirus in the country continues to go up and now it has touched 416,499,” the health ministry said in a statement.

Germany has registered 17,767 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total count to 1,171,322, the Robert Koch Institute said on Sunday.

The death toll has grown by 255 to 18,772 people within the same period of time. One day earlier, public health officials in Germany confirmed 23,318 new positive tests for the disease and a rise to the death toll of 483.

A total of over 500,000 people could die from Covid-19 in the US by early spring despite the release of the coronavirus vaccine, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in Seattle projects.

“Even with expected vaccine rollout, the United States is forecast to see 539,000 deaths by April 1...In the US, the expected vaccine rollout only reduces the death toll by April 1 by 9,000 deaths,” Sputnik quoted IHME as saying, at the University of Washington in Seattle projects. Read more

A month shy of 100, Bhabatarini Samanta had to battle the deadliest of foes in the path of her becoming a centenarian - the coronavirus. And, she mananged to get the better of it, stunning doctors and family members alike. Samanta, at 99 years and 11 months, was admitted to a designated Covid-19 hospital in Fuleswar area on November 24 with fever and breathing trouble. Read more

South Korea reported 631 more cases of the Covid-19 as of midnight Saturday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 37,546.

The daily caseload was the highest in over nine months since March 2 when the reading recorded 686. The highest-ever figure was 909 tallied on Feb 29. The daily number of confirmed cases rose in triple figures for 29 straight days since Nov. 8 owing to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases. Of the new cases, 253 were Seoul residents and 176 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

South Korea's government tightened social distancing requirements in the capital Seoul on Sunday, Yonhap news agency said, as the country grapples with the highest coronavirus infections in nine months. South Korea reported 631 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the country's total tally to 37,546, with 545 deaths, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported.

Tamil Nadu Congress chief K S Alagiri has tested positive for coronavirus, the party said on Sunday. The former Lok Sabha MP has been admitted to a private hospital for treatment, A Gopanna, TNCC media department chairman said in a statement.

"TNCC President K S Alagiri has tested positive for coronavirus following a test today morning and has been admitted to a private hospital for treatment," he said.

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij who tested positive for Covid-19 on December 5 and is hospitalized said on Sunday that he was told by doctors before being administered the first dose during the phase 3 trial of Bharat Biotech's coronavirus vaccine Covaxin that antibodies take 14 days to build in the human body after the second dose. Vij tweeted in Hindi that he had received only the first dose of the two-shot coronavirus vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech.

मुझे कोवेक्सिन लगाने से पहले डॉक्टरों ने बता दिया था कि वेक्सिन दूसरी डोज 28 दिन के बाद लगने के 14 दिन बाद ही अन्टोबोडी बनेगी । पूरी एहतियात बरतने के बाद भी मैंकरना के काबू आगया । मेरा सिविल हस्पताल में इलाज हो रहा है ओर मैं ठीक महसूस कर रहा हूँ ।

— ANIL VIJ MINISTER HARYANA (@anilvijminister) December 6, 2020

Seventeen more people tested positive for Covid-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, pushing the tally in the state to 16,384, a senior health department official said here on Sunday. Of the 17 fresh cases, six were reported from the Capital Complex region, three from Tawang and two from Upper Siang, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

Jharkhand's Covid-19 tally mounted to 1,10,186 with 196 fresh cases, while one more fatality pushed the death toll to 979, a health department official said on Sunday.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands Covid-19 tally rose to 4,747 as five more persons tested positive for the virus, a health department official said on Sunday.

The death toll in the Union Territory remained at 61 as no new fatality due to the infection was reported, he said.

Telangana reported 622 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to over 2.73 lakh while two fatalities pushed the toll to 1,472. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 104, followed by Rangareddy 55 and Medchal Malkajgiri 51, a government bulletin said on Sunday providing details as of 8 pm on December 5. As many as 8,125 patients are under treatment and57,308 samples were tested on Saturday.

Cumulatively, over 57.79 lakh samples have been tested.

Provincial governments across China are placing orders for experimental, domestically made coronavirus vaccines, though health officials have yet to say how well they work or how they may reach the country’s 1.4 billion people.

Developers are speeding up final testing, the Chinese foreign minister said Thursday during a UN meeting, as Britain issued approval for emergency use of Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine candidate and providers scrambled to set up distribution. Read more

At least 21 people, including two Border Security Force jawans, have tested positive for novel coronavirus in Mizoram, pushing the tally to 3,934, an official said on Sunday. Mizoram now has 220 active cases, while 3,708 people have recovered from the disease, he said.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 17,767 to 1,171,323, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by 255 to 18,772, the tally showed.