Highlights: UK reports 53,285 Covid-19 cases, 613 deaths
India continued its streak by recording 20,035 cases in 24 hours, on the last day of the year. The death toll rose by 256 fatalities taking the cumulative total to 148994. In the same time period 23181 individuals were also discharged after being successfully cured.
- 12:06 PM IST
Andaman records 4 new cases of coronavirus taking the island's tally to 4,945
- 11:15 AM IST
Orissa surpasses 7 million Covid-19 tests
- 10:25 AM IST
Maharashtra to conduct Covid-19 vaccine dry run in select districts on January 2
- 10:10 AM IST
Germany reports 22,924 coronavirus cases in a day pushing nation-wide tally to 1,742,661
- 09:14 AM IST
India records 20,035 new cases of Covid-19 on the last day of 2020
- 08:23 AM IST
Slovakia records 6,315 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours for the first time since the pandemic began
- 07:27 AM IST
Anthony Fauci criticizes the pace of vaccine rollout in US
As the new year rolls in India along with several other nations are starting to roll out plans for vaccinating their masses against the coronavirus. 2021 is being touted as the year of the vaccine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on the last day of the year that India is prepared for the world's largest vaccination drive, and hours later states and union territories were asked to gear up for a vaccine dry run on January 2. The World Health Organization (WHO) has granted 'emergency validation' to the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine so countries all over the world can approve its import for mass inoculation. Elsewhere in the US a nurse was arrested in the state of Wisconsin for deliberately ruining hundreds of dose of the Pfizer vaccine by removing them from refrigeration for two nights straight.
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India has been witnessing a steady decline in the number of cases for a little over a month now. December witnessed the lowest count of daily new cases in 6 months and the least number of fatalities since the month of May. Indian authorities are remaining vigilant and metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru etc imposed night curfews to ensure the new variant of the virus does not spread around during New Year's Eve celebrations.
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Andaman records 4 new cases of coronavirus taking the island's tally to 4,945
Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded 4 fresh cases of coronavirus taking the total tally to 4,945 on Friday, reported PTI. All new cases were detected due to contact tracing efforts. Andaman currently has 57 active cases.
Orissa surpasses 7 million Covid-19 tests
The Chief minister of Orissa took to Twitter on Friday to announce that the state has conducted 7 million coronavirus (Covid-19) tests since the pandemic began. He thanked the people of Orissa for their continued fight against Covid, heralding this record as a 'milestone'.
Glad to share that #Odisha has successfully surpassed 7 million #COVID19 test milestone. Salute to the spirit, discipline & determination of people of Odisha, who have set an example for all in the fight against Covid. #OdishaFightsBack pic.twitter.com/53ynzsYvqg
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) January 1, 2021
Maharashtra to conduct Covid-19 vaccine dry run in select districts on January 2
Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope told news agency ANI that the state will conduct Covid-19 vaccine dry runs in the districts of Jalna, Pune, Nagpur, and Nandurbar. The selected districts will have three vaccination centres and 25 people for vaccination, the minister added.
Maharashtra Health Dept to conduct a dry run for COVID19 vaccine in Pune, Nagpur, Jalna and Nandurbar districts on 2nd Jan. Each district will have three vaccination centers with 25 people for vaccination at each centre: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope pic.twitter.com/LYDO3CxBpd
— ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2021
Germany reports 22,924 coronavirus cases in a day pushing nation-wide tally to 1,742,661
Germany recorded 22,924 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, taking the nation-wide tally to 1,742,661, reported Reuters. In the last 24 hours 553 fatalities were also reported. Germany has seen a total of 33,624 since the pandemic started.
India records 20,035 new cases of Covid-19 on the last day of 2020
India continued its streak by recording 20,035 cases in 24 hours, on the last day of the year. The death toll rose by 256 fatalities taking the cumulative total to 148994. In the same time period 23181 individuals were also discharged after being successfully cured, taking total recoveries to 9.9 million since the pandemic started.
Slovakia records 6,315 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours for the first time since the pandemic began
Slovakia saw its daily case count reach a record high on Wednesday, when 6,315 new cases were recorded, marking an 100 per cent increase in the daily toll, reported news agency ANI. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country has now exceeded 179,500. In light of recent developments the government has increased emergency restrictions till February 8, 2021, added ANI.
Anthony Fauci criticizes the pace of vaccine rollout in US
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci criticized the pace of vaccine rollout in the US, commenting that the original quota of inoculation, 20 million doses into people by the end of 2020, has not been fulfilled. However, he added that this has not dwindled his hopes and he continues to remain optimistic for a full recovery.
First published: Jan 01, 2021 07:01 IST