Highlights: UK surpasses 100,000 Covid deaths in grim new milestone

More than 100,000 Britons have died within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test, official data showed on Tuesday, a grim new milestone as the government battles to speed up vaccination delivery and keep variants of the virus at bay. Britain has the fifth highest toll globally and reported a further 1,631 deaths and 20,089 cases on Tuesday, according to government figures. The 100,162 deaths are more than the country's civilian toll in World War Two and twice the number killed in the 1940-41 Blitz bombing campaign, although the total population was lower then.

With nine new coronavirus-related deaths, the toll rose to 8,632 in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, while the number of cases climbed to 5,99,208 after 307 more people tested positive for the infection, according to an official statement.

Lucknow, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, Barabanki, Basti, Bijnor, Pilibhit and Mirzapur recorded one Covid-19 death each, the UP government said in a statement issued here on Tuesday. Of the fresh cases, state capital Lucknow reported 45, followed by Prayagraj, which registered 40 infections. In the past 24 hours, 569 Covid-19 patients recovered from the disease, taking the total number patients discharged in the state to 5,84,039.

Gujarat reported 380 fresh coronavirus positive cases in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 2,59,867, the state Health department said on Tuesday.

With two more persons succumbing to the viral disease, the toll in the state went up to 4,381, it said in a release. A total of 637 people were discharged during the day, taking the count of recoveries in Gujarat to 2,51,400, the department said, adding that there are 4,086 active cases. Gujarat's case recovery rate has improved to 96.74 per cent, said the release.

West Bengal's Covid-19 tally rose to 5,68,650 on Tuesday as 295 more people tested positive for the infection, while nine fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 10,131, a health bulletin said. As many as 409 more people have been cured of the disease, pushing the recovery rate among the patients in the state to 97.16 per cent. North 24 Parganas district reported the highest number of new cases at 91, followed by Kolkata at 83.

Madhya Pradesh's Covid-19 tally rose to 2,54,085 on Tuesday after the state recorded 228 fresh cases, a health department official said. With two more people succumbing to the viral infection, the overall death toll rose to 3,793, he said. A total of 515 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the state's overall recovery count to 2,47,073, he said. Of the new fatalities, one patient each died in Bhopal and Damoh, the official said.

Of the 228 new cases, Bhopal accounted for 81 and Indore 23.

Rajasthan reported 125 fresh novel coronavirus cases on Tuesday, pushing the infection tally to 3,16,970, even as no new death linked to the pandemic was recorded in the state, according to an official report. According to the report, a maximum of 34 new cases were recorded in Kota. So far, 2,760 Covid-19 patients have died in the state and 3,11,374 recovered, it said.

Maharashtra's Covid-19 tally on Tuesday rose to 20,13,353 after it recorded 2,405 fresh cases, said a state health department official. The state also reported 47 deaths, taking the fatality count to 50,862, he said. Also, 2,106 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, pushing the tally of recovered people to 19,17,450, the official said. With this, the number of active cases stood at 43,811.

Tamil Nadu recorded 523 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, pushing the overall tally to 8,35,803. Recoveries outnumbered new cases, with 595 people being cured of the virus, as total recoveries touched 8,18,742. Active cases stood at 4,736. Five people succumbed to the virus, taking the total deaths in the state to 12,325, according to a Health bulletin issued by the government.

Nagaland's Covid-19 tally rose to 12,081 on Tuesday as two more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said. Three more people have been cured of the disease, Health Department Director Dr Denis Hangsing said. The state now has 95 active cases, while 11,756 people have recovered from the disease, 88 patients have succumbed to the infection and 142 have migrated to other states, he said.

Moderna Inc said on Tuesday it was on track to deliver about 100 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to the United States by the end of the first quarter of 2021, with 200 million doses in total available by the end of the second quarter.

Sweden, whose unorthodox pandemic strategy has placed it in the global spotlight, registered 9,123 new coronavirus cases since Friday, health agency statistics showed on Tuesday. The figure compares to 9,779 cases the corresponding period last week. The country of 10 million inhabitants registered 242 new deaths, taking the total to 11,247. The deaths registered have occurred over several days and sometimes weeks. Sweden's death rate per capita is several times higher than that of its Nordic neighbors' but lower than in several European countries that opted for lockdowns.

The UK on Tuesday hit another grim Covid-19 milestone as the country's death toll from the deadly virus crossed 100,000 since the peak of the pandemic last year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) assessment of death certificate data reveals that there have been nearly 104,000 deaths since last year. The UK government's daily death toll figures rely on positive coronavirus tests in the past 28 days and are therefore slightly lower, at 98,531. The ONS figures show that a total of 7,245 registered deaths in England and Wales mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate in the week ending January 15, which is up from 6,057 deaths the week before and is the highest weekly number since April 24, 2020.

Delhi reported 157 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours taking the total number of cases to 6,34,229. Delhi Government's health bulletin said on Tuesday that the national capital has reported 218 recoveries in the last 24 hours taking the total recoveries to 6,21,783. The death toll has gone up to 10,820 with seven more persons succumbing to the virus. The total number of active Covid-19 cases stands at 1,626. The total case count in the country stands at 1,06,76,838 including 1,77,266 active cases and 1,03,45,985 discharges. The death toll has gone upto 1,53,587.

Georgia on Tuesday reported 1,006 new Covid-19 cases, taking its total to 254,822, said the country's National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC). Data from the NCDC showed that 1,050 more patients have recovered in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 244,446.

Meanwhile, 25 people died in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 3,096.

Colombia's Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo died Tuesday of complications stemming from Covid-19, the country's president said.

"Carlos Holmes Trujillo died at dawn today, after complications in his health while he was battling Covid-19," President Ivan Duque said in a video posted on Twitter. Trujillo, 69, had first been hospitalized January 11. Four days later, he was taken into intensive care at a Bogota military hospital suffering "acute lung function deterioration," the defense ministry said in a statement.

The World Health Organization’s COVAX programme has pledged $112 million for Covid-19 vaccines to reach 20% of Afghanistan’s population, an Afghan health official said on Tuesday. The COVAX programme is a global scheme to vaccinate people in poor and middle income countries against the coronavirus. It aims to deliver at least 2 billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021 to cover 20% of the most vulnerable people in 91 poor and middle-income countries. Afghanistan's Deputy Health Minister Waheed Majroh told journalists it was going to take six months to get the vaccines but authorities were in discussions to get them earlier.

China's Covid-19 vaccines based on the inactivated virus can be upgraded to cope with new variants in about two months, the Global Times reported on Tuesday citing an expert with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. There are concerns that vaccines developed over the last year may be less effective again new variants of the virus discovered recently in Britain and South Africa. Moderna Inc said on Monday it would test a new booster shot aimed at the South African variant after concluding the antibody response could be diminished.

Governor Vajubhai Vala on Tuesday commended the efforts of the Karnataka government in combating the Covid-19 pandemic and in using technology to monitor those who were quarantined. "Karnataka's fight against coronavirus is commendable and the state is using technology to quarantine people. People are using the Apthamitra helpline during the Covid-19 pandemic," he said during the Republic Day Parade at the Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground.

Indonesia reports 13,094 new Covid-19 cases and 336 deaths. Tally rises to 1,012,350 including 28,468 deaths.

Puducherry records 32 new Covid-19 cases and zero deaths. Tally rises to 38,910 including 645 deaths.

Russia reports 18,241 new Covid-19 cases and 564 deaths. Tally rises to 3,756,931 including 70,482 deaths.

India’s deaths per million population (111) are amongst the lowest in the world, says health ministry.

Arunachal Pradesh records one new Covid-19 case, as tally rises to 16,820. Death toll at 56.

Thailand records 959 new cases of Covid-19 and zero deaths. Tally rises to 14,646 while toll stays at 75.

Germany records 6,408 new Covid-19 cases and 903 deaths. Tally rises to 2,148,077 including 52,990 deaths.