LIVE: Covid-19 pandemic response team says WHO, China could have acted faster

The United States continued to report more deaths as toll neared 400,000. It is still the worst country to be affected by the pandemic followed by India and Brazil.

Medical workers in protective suits attend to novel coronavirus patients at the intensive care unit (ICU) of a designated hospital in Wuhan, (REUTERS)

The global death toll due to the coronavirus disease surpassed two million as more people succumbed to the viral disease, Bloomberg reported. The number of infection has surpassed 94.9 million, it also reported. Massive Covid-19 vaccination drive in underway in countries. As per the same report, 42.9 million have received the Covid-19 shot worldwide so far, the Bloomberg report also said....Read More

Follow all the updates here:

• 18 Jan 2021, 10:56:15 PM IST

  Jharkhand reports 100 new cases, four deaths

  Jharkhand reported 100 new coronavirus infections, taking the state's tally to 1,17,786. The death toll after four new fatalities stands at 1,054.

• 18 Jan 2021, 10:49:38 PM IST

  Students test positive for during random testing on campus of school-cum-hostel in Gujarat

  At least 11 girl students of classes 10 and 12 tested positive for Covid-19 during random testing on campus of school-cum-hostel in Keshod town in Gujarat's Junagadh district on first day of resumption of classes.

• 18 Jan 2021, 10:01:47 PM IST

  Karnataka reports 435 new coronavirus cases, nine deaths

  Karnataka reported 435 new coronavirus infections, taking the state's tally to 9,32,432. The death toll after nine new fatalities stands at 12,175.

• 18 Jan 2021, 09:44:12 PM IST

  Punjab records 140 new cases, seven deaths

  Punjab recorded 140 new coronavirus infections, taking the state's tally to 1,70,729 including 2,458 active cases. The death toll after seven new fatalities stands at 5,509.

• 18 Jan 2021, 09:23:39 PM IST

  Kerala reports 3,346 new coronavirus cases

  Kerala reported 3,346 new Covid-19 cases, taking the number of active cases in the state to 68,399. The total number of recoveries rose to 7,79,097 after 3,921 new ones.

• 18 Jan 2021, 09:18:41 PM IST

  Czech foreign minister tests positive for coronavirus

  Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek said on Monday he had tested positive for the coronavirus. He is the fourth government minister to contract the virus, said he felt tired but had no severe symptoms.

• 18 Jan 2021, 09:13:48 PM IST

  Odisha to receive 3,34,500 Covishield vaccine doses tomorrow

  The Odisha state health department said that they would receive 3,34,500 Covishield vaccine doses tomorrow.

• 18 Jan 2021, 09:00:03 PM IST

  Haryana reports 119 new cases, four deaths

  Haryana reported 119 new coronavirus infections, taking the state's tally to 2,66,428. The death toll after four new fatalities stands at 2,989.

• 18 Jan 2021, 08:31:38 PM IST

  Gujarat reports 495 new cases, two deaths

  Gujarat reported 495 new coronavirus infections, taking the state's tally to 2,56,367. The death toll after two new fatalities stands at 4,367.

• 18 Jan 2021, 08:24:29 PM IST

  Norway asks highly frail recipients to be cautious wile taking Pfizer vaccine

  Norway has changed its policy on the use of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine to consider excluding the terminally ill, following reports of deaths in highly frail recipients after the inoculation was given, BioNTech said on Monday.

• 18 Jan 2021, 08:20:43 PM IST

  Covid-19 pandemic response team says WHO, China could have acted faster

  The Covid-19 pandemic response team said that the World Health Organisation and China could have acted faster during the pandemic, as per news agency AFP.

• 18 Jan 2021, 08:06:20 PM IST

  Punjab govt to re-open universities from January 21

  The Punjab government has decided to re-open all private and public universities from January 21.

• 18 Jan 2021, 08:04:55 PM IST

  Bhutan to get AstraZeneca vaccine from India

  Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering said that it was likely that the country would get the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine from India.

• 18 Jan 2021, 07:54:59 PM IST

  Nagaland reports three new coronavirus cases

  Nagaland reported three new coronavirus infections, taking the state's tally to 12,061 including 115 active cases.

• 18 Jan 2021, 07:44:02 PM IST

  Maharashtra reports 1,924 new cases, 35 deaths

  Maharashtra reported 1,924 new coronavirus infections, taking the state's tally to 19,92,683. The death toll after 35 new fatalities stands at 50,473.

• 18 Jan 2021, 07:32:50 PM IST

  580 adverse effects from vaccines reported so far: Ministry

  The Union Health Ministry said that 580 580 Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFIs) have been reported so far from the vaccine. Seven of them have been hospitalized.

• 18 Jan 2021, 07:31:17 PM IST

  Number of those vaccinated across the country at 1,48,266 by 5pm: Health Ministry

  The health ministry said that the total number of beneficiaries vaccinated across the country was at 1,48,266 by 5pm today.

• 18 Jan 2021, 07:29:21 PM IST

  Two dead after taking Covid-19 vaccine

  Two people have passed away after taking the Covid-19 vaccination in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, the Union Health Ministry said. The death of the UP resident was not related to vaccination and post mortem was planned today for the second person as per the Ministry.

• 18 Jan 2021, 06:57:54 PM IST

  Covid-19 vaccination drive in Gujarat success: CM

  Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani said that the coronavirus vaccination drive in the state was a success as no serious adverse reaction case emerged from anywhere in the state.

• 18 Jan 2021, 06:56:03 PM IST

  Tamil Nadu reports 551 new cases, eight deaths

  Tamil Nadu reported 551 new coronavirus infections, taking the state's tally to 8,31,323. The death toll after eight new fatalities stands at 12,272.

• 18 Jan 2021, 06:51:46 PM IST

  Japan finds virus variant in 3 people with no record of UK travel

  Japanese doctors have detected a fast-spreading variant of the new coronavirus first discovered in Britain in three people who had not traveled there, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

• 18 Jan 2021, 05:31:40 PM IST

  Delhi reports 161 new cases, eight deaths

  The national capital reported 161 new coronavirus infections, taking its overall tally to 6,32,590. The death toll after eight new fatalities stands at 10,754.

• 18 Jan 2021, 05:26:09 PM IST

  No change in the total number of persons with UK Covid strain

  The Ministry of Health and family welfare said on Monday that the there was no change in the total number of people infected with the UK coronavirus strain.

• 18 Jan 2021, 05:22:37 PM IST

  WHO chief says vaccine nationalism can lead to 'catastrophic moral failure'

  The world is on the brink of “catastrophic moral failure” in sharing Covid-19 vaccines, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday, urging countries and manufacturers to spread doses more fairly around the world.

• 18 Jan 2021, 05:12:55 PM IST

  Uttar Pradesh reports 379 fresh infections, four deathsa

  Uttar Pradesh reported 379 fresh coronavirus infections taking the state's tally to 5,96,904 including 8,631 active cases. The death toll after four new fatalities stands at 8,580.

• 18 Jan 2021, 05:08:20 PM IST

  Rajasthan govt withdraws night curfew as cases decline

  The Rajasthan government has decided to withdraw night curfew and relax some of the restrictions in a phased manner in view of declining coronavirus infections.

• 18 Jan 2021, 04:43:59 PM IST

  Scientists in the international mission to trace coronavirus origins will arrive in China on Thursday: Tedros

  WHO director-general Tedros said that scientists looking into the origins of the coronavirus would arrive in China on Thursday. He reiterated that this was a scientific exercise with the objective taking steps to prevent the emergence of other zoonotic pathogens in the future.

• 18 Jan 2021, 04:33:50 PM IST

  WHO was working to strengthen preparedness before pandemic: Tedros

  WHO director-general Tedros said that the organisation was working to strengthen preparedness and response even before the onset of the pandemic.

• 18 Jan 2021, 04:28:46 PM IST

  Tedros announces new repository for virus specimens called BioHub

  The WHO director-general announced that the virus repository at Switzerland was to be called BioHub. It would serve to facilitate the voluntary sharing of viruses and the rapid development of medical countermeasures.

• 18 Jan 2021, 04:20:52 PM IST

  Will ensure vaccines in all countries by April 7: Tedros

  WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that it was his challenge to ensure the administering of the coronavirus vaccine in every singlr country by World Health Day (April 7).

• 18 Jan 2021, 04:18:37 PM IST

  Covid-19 surprised the world's richest and most powerful nations: Tedros

  WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that even the world's most powerful nations were caught unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic and revealed a collective failure to invest in emergency preparedness.

• 18 Jan 2021, 04:01:57 PM IST

  UK vaccinating 140 people a minute: Minister

  UK vaccine deployment minister Nadhim Zahawi said that the country was vaccinating 140 people per minute against coronavirus.

• 18 Jan 2021, 03:46:24 PM IST

  Suga vows to take all possible measures to assist Japan's medical system

  Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Monday his government will take all possible measures to protect the country’s medical system, as hospitals creak under the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic.

• 18 Jan 2021, 03:16:57 PM IST

  Nepal reports three new UK variant coronavirus cases

  Nepal reported three new UK variant coronavirus cases on Monday.

• 18 Jan 2021, 03:11:32 PM IST

  Malaysia to roll out additional $3.7 billion pandemic stimulus measures

  Malaysia will introduce 15 billion ringgit ($3.71 billion) worth of additional stimulus measures to support its pandemic-hit economy and fight Covid-19, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address on Monday.

• 18 Jan 2021, 01:20:00 PM IST

  4 Kerala MLAs test positive for Covid-19

  Four MLAs in Kerala have tested positive for Covid-19 after participating in the ongoing session of the Assembly. The members representing Neyyattinkara, Kollam, Koyilandy and Peermedu--K Ansalan (CPI-M), K Dasan (CPI-M), Mukesh (CPI-M) and E S Bijimol (CPI)- respectively are the lawmakers who have tested positive, Assembly sources said.

• 18 Jan 2021, 12:46:47 PM IST

  Israel trades Pfizer doses for medical data in vaccine blitz

  After sprinting ahead in the race to inoculate its population against the coronavirus, Israel has struck a deal with Pfizer, promising to share vast troves of medical data with the international drug giant in exchange for the continued flow of its hard-to-get vaccine.

• 18 Jan 2021, 11:19:30 AM IST

  England to launch next phase of vaccination drive

  England will launch the next phase of its vaccination programme on Monday, offering doses to people aged 70 and above, as well as those seen as extremely vulnerable clinically.

• 18 Jan 2021, 11:19:02 AM IST

  Statewise status of Covid-19 in India

  

  India's Covid 19 tally

• 18 Jan 2021, 09:37:57 AM IST

  Thane Covid-19 tally rises to 2,49,507

  The Covid-19 tally in Thane district of Maharashtra has gone up to 2,49,507 with the detection of 325 new cases of the infection, an official said on Monday.

• 18 Jan 2021, 09:28:33 AM IST

  India's Covid-19 tally rise after 13,788 fresh cases

  India'' Covid-19 tally increased after 13,788 fresh cases were recorded in the last 24 hours. The total caseload now stands at 10.571.773. Read more

• 18 Jan 2021, 08:30:00 AM IST

  Delhi schools to reopen today

  The schools in Delhi will reopen from Monday amid strict adherence to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) protocol mandated by the Centre. With staggered and shorter class hours, frequent sanitisation, the classes will only resume for 10th and 12th students, in view of the board exams. Read more

• 18 Jan 2021, 07:46:31 AM IST

  Joe Biden's ambitious plan against coronavirus

  Joe Biden has promised quick action to address the coronavirus pandemic and boost the ailing US economy once he takes office on Wednesday. His ambitious plan includes 100 million doses to be injected in his first 100 days in office. It calls for neighborhood vaccination centers, improved federal-state cooperation and the mobilization of 100,000 healthcare workers.

• 18 Jan 2021, 06:37:41 AM IST

  China reports more than 100 cases for sixth consecutive day

  China continued to report more than 100 cases of infection for the sixth consecutive day. As per the National Health Commission, 109 peple contracted the virus in the last 24 hours. Out of this, 93 were local infections. Hebei recorded the highest number of cases with 54. Northeastern Jilin province reported a record 30 new cases, underscoring the risk of new clusters emerging.