Highlights: Night curfew in Maharashtra from December 22 to January 5
A new strain of the coronavirus has been discovered in the UK which, scientists have said, can spread much faster and a few countries have started to implement travel bans against UK citizens.
- 09:09 PM IST
Amazon shuts warehouse in New Jersey following increasing Covid-19 infections
- 09:01 PM IST
West Bengal reports 1,515 new Covid-19 cases, tally reaches 538,343 infections
- 08:28 PM IST
EU medicines regulator approves Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine
- 08:09 PM IST
Maharashtra's Covid-19 tally reaches 1,899,352 cases, 48,801 deaths
- 06:58 PM IST
Andhra Pradesh Covid-19 tally reaches 878,937 cases, 7,078 deaths
- 06:47 PM IST
Maharashtra to impose night curfew in cities from December 22 to January 5
- 06:25 PM IST
Delhi reports 803 new Covid-19 cases, 27 deaths, 1669 recoveries in past 24 hours
- 05:23 PM IST
Parliamentary panel submits Covid-19 report to vice president Venkaiah Naidu
- 03:44 PM IST
France needs to step up Covid vigilance: Macron
- 03:14 PM IST
Civil Aviation Ministry suspends flights from UK until Dec 31
- 02:25 PM IST
Russia reports 29,350 new cases, 493 deaths
- 02:21 PM IST
No decision made regarding flights from UK: Air India official
- 01:50 PM IST
European countries cut off UK after over virus strain fears
- 01:45 PM IST
Himachal Pradesh reports 30 new cases
- 12:41 PM IST
No need to panic: Harsh Vardhan on UK coronavirus strain

The overall coronavirus caseload in India currently is 10,055,560. The country recorded 24,337 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours and 333 new fatalities took the death toll up to 1,45,810.
Click here for full Covid-19 coverage
The global coronavirus caseload currently stands at 76,760,893 and the death toll is 1,692,151 as per the latest updates by John Hopkins university. The US still has the highest number of confirmed Covid-19 infections in the world with 17,820,477 confirmed cases and 3,17,597 deaths. Countries, including the US and the UK, have started to vaccinate their citizens against the disease, although a new strain of the virus discovered in the UK might be cause for concern.
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Amazon shuts warehouse in New Jersey following increasing Covid-19 infections
An Amazon spokesperson has confirmed that the company's warehouse in Robbinsville Township in New Jersey, USA, has been shut following an increase in asymptomatic Covid-19 cases.
“Through our in-house Covid-19 testing program, we detected an increase in the number of asymptomatic positive cases at our PNE5 facility in northern New Jersey and have pro-actively closed the site until December 26th out of an abundance of caution,” Amazon spokesperson Leah Seay said, reports Bloomberg.
West Bengal reports 1,515 new Covid-19 cases, tally reaches 538,343 infections
With 1,515 new Covid-19 infections and 41 new deaths, West Bengal's Covid-19 tally reached 538,343 cases and 9,401 fatalities, according to the state health department.
The state has 16,903 active cases and also reported 2,342 discharges taking the overall recoveries to 512,039 patients, ANI reported.
EU medicines regulator approves Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved the conditional marketing authorisation for Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech.
"I am delighted to announce that the EMA scientific committee met today and recommended a conditional marketing authorisation in the EU for the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech," EMA chief Emer Cooke told an online press conference.
Maharashtra's Covid-19 tally reaches 1,899,352 cases, 48,801 deaths
Maharashtra reported 2,234 new Covid-19 cases and 55 deaths, taking the state's tally to 1,899,352 cases and 48,801 deaths, according to the state health department.
In the last 24 hours 6,053 recoveries have been reported, exceeding the daily infection count, taking the overall recoveries to 1,789,958 patients with 99.24 per cent recovery rate, reports PTI.
Andhra Pradesh Covid-19 tally reaches 878,937 cases, 7,078 deaths
With 214 new Covid-19 cases and 422 recoveries, Andhra Pradesh's Covid-19 tally reaches 878,937 total cases and 867,867 overall recoveries. There are 3,992 active cases in the state and the total death toll stands at 7,078., reports ANI.
Andhra Pradesh reports 214 new COVID-19 cases, 422 recoveries, according to the State Health Department.
— ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2020
Total cases: 8,78,937
Active cases: 3,992
Total recoveries: 8,67,867
Death toll: 7,078 pic.twitter.com/JwbiMQoBgb
Maharashtra to impose night curfew in cities from December 22 to January 5
The Maharashtra government has decided to impose seven-hour night curfew from Tuesday for the next 15 days till January 5, 2021.
The curfew will be effective in all the cities (municipal corporation areas) across the state from 11 pm till 6am in the morning.
Travelers coming from Europe and Middle-East countries are to be kept under institutional quarantine facilities for 14 days and travelers coming from other countries would be directed to home quarantine for 14 days.
Delhi reports 803 new Covid-19 cases, 27 deaths, 1669 recoveries in past 24 hours
With 803 new Covid-19 cases and 27 new deaths reported, Delhi's Covid-19 tally reached 617,808 infections and 10,304 fatalities, Delhi's health department said.
Currently there are 9,255 active cases in Delhi. In the past 24 hours, 1,669 recoveries have been reported, taking the overall recoveries to 598,249, news agency ANI reported.
Parliamentary panel submits Covid-19 report to vice president Venkaiah Naidu
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, chaired by Congress leader Anand Sharma, has submitted its Covid-19 report to vice president Venkaiah Naidu.
The report recommends multiple measures to the central government in its efforts against Covid-19.
A comprehensive public health law and sufficient testing before providing emergency use authorisation to Covid-19 vaccines, were some of the key suggestions, reports PTI.
France needs to step up Covid vigilance: Macron
France needs to step up its vigilance regarding the coronavirus situation in the country, given the emergence of a new strain of the virus in the United Kingdom, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.
Civil Aviation Ministry suspends flights from UK until Dec 31
The Civil Aviation Ministry has announced suspension of all flights originating from the UK to India effective December 22 from 11:59pm to December 31 11:59pm over new coronavirus strain fears.
Russia reports 29,350 new cases, 493 deaths
Russia reported 29,350 new coronavirus infections, a record high, taking the country's tally to 2,877,727. 493 new fatalities pushed the death toll to 51,351.
No decision made regarding flights from UK: Air India official
An Air India official said that a decision regarding flights to and from the UK has nit yet been made in view of the new coronavirus strain that was discovered.
European countries cut off UK after over virus strain fears
Several European countries like Italy, Germany, France and The Netherlands to name a few, have blocked air travel from the UK over fears the new coronavirus strain that was discovered there.
First published: Dec 21, 2020 07:23 IST