Highlights: PM Modi discusses post-Covid economic agenda with leading economists

Jharkhand reported 207 new #COVID19 cases & 188 recoveries & 2 deaths today.

The total number of cases now stands at 1,16,436 including 1,13,928 recoveries, 1,043 deaths, and 1,465 active cases: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/NTybpcafB3

— ANI (@ANI) January 8, 2021

Assam reported 50 new cases of COVID-19 and 54 discharges today

Total cases: 2,16,531
Total discharges: 2,12,427
Death toll: 1,059 pic.twitter.com/X0yPJo2k8h

— ANI (@ANI) January 8, 2021

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has announced new rules for all passengers arriving from the United Kingdom, including mandatory RT-PCR Covid-19 testing and seven-day institutional quarantine.

The measures have been taken in the light of a new announcement from the Delhi government after flight services from the UK were resumed.

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Kind attention to all flyers arriving from the UK. pic.twitter.com/LfeZFTYN44

— Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) January 8, 2021

Rajasthan reported 471 new Covid-19 cases taking the overall tally in the state to 312,091 infections and 2,727 deaths, news agency ANI reported.

With 537 new recoveries, total recoveries reached 3,01,962 patients.

UK's medical regulator gave its nod to the Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by the US drug maker Moderna Inc. With vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca already being administered in the UK, Moderna became the third company to get approval.

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President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen had confirmed that the EU has procured 300 million additional doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to ensure sufficient availability in member nations.

We make sure Europeans have sufficient doses of safe & effective #COVID19 vaccines.

We now enable EU countries to buy more doses of the 1st vaccine approved in EU.

They can now buy up to 300 million more doses of the #BioNTech/@Pfizer vaccine.https://t.co/vjZd0L17VL

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 8, 2021

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned the government from importing new coronavirus vaccines from the United States and Britain. "Imports of US and British vaccines into the country are banned. I have told this to officials and I'm saying it publicly now," Khamenei said in live televised speech.

"If the Americans were able to produce a vaccine, they would not have such a coronavirus fiasco in their own country," he said.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan inspects cold storage for COVID vaccine in Chennai during his visit today #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/26dYVvRULi

— ANI (@ANI) January 8, 2021

The union territory of Puducherry reported 20 new coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours taking the overall tally to 38,389, a top Health department official said on Friday.

A total of 82 persons found with new mutant variant of SARS- CoV-2 virus so far, says Union ministry of health and family welfare.

A new research has found that Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Pfizer will protect against mutations of virus found in the UK and South Africa.

Australia's third-largest city of Brisbane will enter a three-day lockdown from Friday afternoon after a local resident was found to be infected with the mutant strain of Covid-19.

Israel imposed new Covid-19 restrictions on Thursday night, tightening an ongoing nationwide lockdown.

India's Covid-19 tally reached 10,413,417 after more than 18,100 people contracted the infection in the last 24 hours.

Shijiazhuang, a city of 11 million people near China’s capital has been locked down and its residents tested en-masse for the coronavirus amid the worst outbreak in about two months in the country.