Highlights: India 'pharmacy of the world', says Harsh Vardhan

The government has initiated a robust Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing and delivery ecosystem to meet the demand, Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Wednesday. Vardhan, who is also the health and family welfare minister, said that as the world races to develop the vaccine for Covid-19, India is looking to be self-reliant in both its development and mass production. Addressing a virtual Global R&D Summit 2020, organised by FICCI, jointly with the Department of Science and Technology, Vardhan said, "Called as the pharmacy of the world, India has the largest capacity to produce Covid-19 vaccines."

Odisha's Covid-19 tally surged to 3,16,001 after it added 730 new infections in the last 24 hours, informed the state's Information and Public Relations Department. The total number of Coronavirus cases in the state include 3,07,374 recoveries and 6,887 active cases. However, 16 patients succumbed to the virus in the past 24 hours, according to the Health and Welfare Department of Odisha.

Over 950 people who were found without face masks at public places were issued challans across Noida and Greater Noida on Wednesday amid the Covid-19 pandemic, police said. Police Commissioner Alok Singh has directed officials to challan those people who are found not adhering to Covid-19 protocols in public places, it stated in a statement.

Twenty beds of Burari hospital of the Delhi government were equipped with ventilators on Wednesday, facilitating full-fledged ICU treatment. Thirty more ventilators will be added to the beds in the hospital by Saturday, said a Delhi government statement.

On the occasion, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain, wearing a PPE kit, visited patients in the Covid-19 ward of the hospital and took their feedback. He directed the hospital staff to take follow up action on it.

West Bengal's Covid-19 death toll mounts to 8,172 with 51 more fatalities; 3,528 fresh cases push tally to 4,66,991, the state health department said.

Chandigarh on Wednesday reported 87 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the infection tally to 16,925, according to a medical bulletin.

The death of a 57-year-old coronavirus positive man pushed the related toll to 266, the bulletin said.

Chandigarh has 1,127 active Covid-19 cases, as of now, according to the bulletin.

The Covid-19 caseload in Gujarat's Surat district rose to 41,050, after 277 fresh infections were detected in the region on Wednesday, an official from the state health department said. With the death of two Covid-19 patients in the city, the toll in the district has reached 1,056, the official said. While 187 patients were discharged from various hospitals in the city, 42 recoveries were reported in the rural areas, he said.

The death toll from Covid-19 rose to 4,684 in Punjab with 31 more patients succumbing to the infection, while the caseload climbed to 1,48,435 after detection of 785 new cases on Wednesday, according to a medical bulletin.

Earlier today Punjab Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh ordered night curfew in all towns and cities of Punjab from 10pm to 5am from December 1.

Uttarakhand on Wednesday reported 482 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the state tally to 72,642. Twelve more Covid-19 positive patients also died in the state, taking the death toll to 1185. Out of 72,642 who have tested positive so far, a total of 66,147 have recovered successfully, taking the recovery rate in the state to 91.06%. The positivity rate in the state now stands at 5.68%.

Tamil Nadu logged 1,534 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the overall infection count to 7,74,710, while 16 more fatalities pushed the toll to 11,655.

Recoveries continued to eclipse new infections with 1,873 people being discharged from health care facilities, taking the overall tally to 7,51,535, a health department bulletin said. Active cases in the state stood at 11,520.

Mumbai's tally of Covid-19 cases grew to 2,78,590 with the addition of 1,144 new cases on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on. The country's financial capital has witnessed a rise in the single-day infection count for the second consecutive day after dropping to 800 cases on Monday. The city's death toll due to the virus increased to 10,723 with 17 fresh fatalities, the civic body said.

Delhi reported 5,246 new cases, 5,361 recoveries, and 99 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to Delhi health department.

🏥Delhi Health Bulletin - 25th November 2020🏥#DelhiFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/GGKoWqx5RN

— CMO Delhi (@CMODelhi) November 25, 2020

COVAXX, a unit of United Biomedical Inc, said on Thursday it has received purchase commitments totaling $2.8 billion to deliver more than 140 million doses of its potential Covid-19 vaccine to developing countries, including Brazil, Peru and Ecuador. The multitope peptide-based vaccine is currently in early-stage trials in Taiwan, lagging some of the frontrunners in the race to develop a safe and effective vaccine.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday that his government was considering limiting Christmas celebrations to six people in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Health experts and scientists have advised that six is a sufficiently low number to help stop the virus, Sanchez said, adding that the final details of the restrictions will be negotiated with regional authorities.

Goa on Wednesday reported 125 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the count of infections to 47,193, a health department official said. With four more persons succumbing to the infection, the overall toll mounted to 683, he said. A total of 61 patients were discharged in the day after treatment, taking the tally of recoveries to 45,229, the official said.