The number of fresh cases in 24 hours has been falling since September in India.
New Delhi:
India reported 27,071 fresh coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, 10.5% less than the previous day, with the overall number touching 98.84 lakhs, according to Health Ministry data released this morning. The country retained the second-highest number in the world after the US, though the daily figures have been dropping since September. In the 24-hour period, India, reported 336 deaths linked to the virus, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,43,355.
Here’s your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story:
-
Kerala once again saw the biggest jump – 4,698 – in fresh cases in 24 hours, taking the state’s overall COVID-19 number to 6,69,330. The state also reported 29 deaths in this time.
-
Overall, Maharashtra remained the worst hit state with 18,80,416 cases in all, up 3,717 since yesterday. Seventy persons died in the past 24 hours, taking its fatality number to 48,209.
-
Delhi recorded 1,984 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the infection tally to 6.07 lakh, while the death count crossed the 10,000 mark with 33 new fatalities, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.
-
BJP president JP Nadda announced on Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and has isolated himself at home. The 60-year-old said he got the test done after he experienced some initial symptoms and added that his health is fine.
-
Schools in Haryana will reopen today for students of classes 10 and 12 appearing for board examinations next year. For classes 9 and 11, they will reopen from December 21. In order to attend classes, students must submit a medical certificate not older than 72 hours, stating their general health condition.
-
One in four health centres worldwide lack access to water, putting around 1.8 billion people at increased risk of contracting COVID-19, the World Health Organization said Monday. The lack of this basic amenity endangers patients and staff alike at such centres, the WHO said in a joint report with the UN children’s agency UNICEF. The study was based on data from 165 countries.
-
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whose foundation has been part of the effort to develop and deliver COVID-19 vaccines, has warned that the next 4-6 months could be the worst period of the coronavirus pandemic. He cited research forecast to that over 200,000 additional deaths could be expected in this period, and said the deaths could be avoided if we would follow the rules like wearing masks and not mixing.
-
The US hit a record 16 million COVID-19 cases on Saturday afternoon, with deaths closing in on the 300,000 mark, even as millions of doses of a new vaccine were expected to start rolling out across the nation on Sunday. The first vaccine was approved late on Friday by the US Food and Drug Administration.
-
Americans will start receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, the official in charge of the distribution operation said Saturday. “Expect 145 sites across all the states to receive vaccine on Monday, another 425 sites on Tuesday. And the final 66 sites on Wednesday, which will complete the initial delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine,” General Gus Perna told reporters.
-
Outgoing US President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other top U.S. officials will be offered the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine beginning on Monday as part of a plan aimed at ensuring the continuity of government, a source familiar with the plans said.
