10.45 pm: The coronavirus tally in Haryana climbs to 2,09,251 after the state registers 2,212 fresh infections, according to ANI. The overall tally includes 1,87,559 recoveries, 2,113 deaths and 19,579 active cases.

10.44 pm: Himachal Pradesh registers 546 new coronavirus cases, pushing the tally in the state to 6,980, reports ANI.

10.41 pm: Delhi reports 7,546 new Covid-19 cases, 6,685 recoveries and 98 deaths on Thursday. The tally climbs to 5,10,630, which includes 43,221 active cases, 4,59,368 discharges and 8,041 fatalities.

10.03 pm: The Ministry of External Affairs says the upcoming G20 Summit will focus on an inclusive, resilient and sustainable recovery from Covid-19, reports ANI. The ministry adds that the leaders will discuss pandemic preparedness and the ways and means to restore jobs.

10.01 pm: Union minister Sadananda Gowda says he has tested positive for the coronavirus. The minister says he got tested after showing initial symptoms of the infection.

9.44 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain says the Aam Aadmi Party government has ordered 90 private hospitals to reserve 60% of their total beds for treatment of Covid-19 patients, reports ANI. He adds that this will lead to an increase of 2,644 beds in private hospitals for coronavirus treatment.

7.18 pm: Ahmedabad imposes night curfew from 9 pm to 6 am as coronavirus cases surge in the city, reports NDTV. It will come into effect from Friday and will stay for an indefinite period. Ahmedabad has reported 46,022 Covid-19 till Wednesday.

6.02 pm: Jammu and Kashmir reports 560 new infections, taking the tally in the Union territory to 10,4715, according to ANI. There are 5,560 active cases.

5.56 pm: Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij says he will be administered a trial dose of Covaxin, a coronavirus vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech, at Ambala Cantt on Friday. “I have volunteered to take the trial dose,” he says.

5.51 pm: Bharatiya Janata Party members, including Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel, stage protest against the Delhi government’s handling of the coronavirus and air pollution situations in the Capital, reports ANI. Protesters demand Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation.

5.47 pm: Denmark health ministry says that a new, mutated strain of the coronavirus stemming from mink farms in the country was “most likely” extinct, according to Reuters.

5.44 pm: Russia resumes the vaccination of new volunteers in its trial for its Sputnik V vaccine after a short pause, reports Reuters, citing staff at six of 29 trial clinics.

5.41 pm: Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations ban Chhath Puja at public places and near water bodies in view of Covid-19, reports ANI.

5.36 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital will increase the number of intensive care unit beds dedicated to Covid-19 from 50 to 100, reports ANI. “We are trying to increase the number of ICU beds on a war footing,” he says.

5.21 pm: Centre sends four teams to Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Manipur to assist the states in strengthening containment, surveillance, testing, infection prevention and control measures for the coronavirus. The teams will visit the districts reporting a high number of Covid cases.

3.24 pm: The head of the Church of Greece, Archbishop Ieronymos, has tested positive for Covid-19 and is being treated with mild symptoms in a central Athens hospital, reports Reuters.

3.10 pm: The chief minister adds that the Delhi government was implementing its decision to reserve 80% of intensive care unit beds in private hospitals for Covid-19 patients from November 19. “Private hospitals have also been directed to increase the percentage of non-ICU beds from 50% to 60%,” he adds.

3.00 pm: In a press briefing, Kejriwal urges political parties and religious and social organisations to distribute masks among people. He also advises people against use of ponds and other water bodies in public areas during the ongoing Chhath festival. “If even one person carries the coronavirus infection, all devotees using the water body are likely to be affected,” he says.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday had refused to interfere with the Aam Aadmi Party-led government’s decision to ban Chhath Puja celebrations in public spaces, in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

2.57 pm: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announces a hike in fine for not wearing masks to Rs 2,000, from the existing penalty of Rs 500. Kejriwal says that the decision was agreed upon by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, in a meeting.

1.27 pm: The all-party meeting convened by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in view of the surge in coronavirus cases in the Capital, has concluded, reports ANI.

1.21 pm: The Union health ministry approves a new category, “Wards of Covid Warriors”, under the central pool of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery/ Bachelor of Dental Surgery seats for the year 2020-’21, ANI reports.

1.16 pm: The Pune Municipal Corporation is bracing for a second wave of coronavirus infections. Authorities have warned that the number of active cases could cross 19,500.

Additional Municipal Commissioner Rubal Agarwal told The Indian Express that Pune had seen the highest number of active cases of 17,781 on September 20. “But the second wave of infections may entail a higher number of active cases, pushing the number beyond 19,500,” Agarwal added.

1.13 pm: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation says it is anticipating a second wave of coronavirus infections in the city in the run-up to New Year’s Eve, the Hindustan Times reports. In case of a surge in the cases in December, several restrictions may be imposed on the celebrations, the civic body adds.

1.06 pm: Scientists and experts say that a person infected with Covid-19 cannot rely on negative coronavirus reports alone to confirm they have recovered from the disease, adding that it creates false hope, the Hindustan Times reports.

“A test can only tell you if you are positive at a given moment in time, and can also fail to detect cases if you are infected but not yet shedding substantial virus,” says Dr Angela Rasmussen, a virologist affiliated with Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security. Therefore, it is advisable that a person, who has been exposed to the coronavirus, should continue to follow the mandated guidelines as a precautionary measure.

12.53 pm: Delhi High Court pulls up the Aam Aadmi Party-led government for introducing delayed measures to check the spread of coronavirus amid a surge in cases, PTI reports. “Why did you wait for 18 days to restrict number of attendees at weddings, how many died of Covid-19 during this period?” the court asks. “You were shaken out of slumber, you turned turtle after we asked questions.”

11.55 am: Japan is on “maximum alert” after logging a record number of 2,000 daily coronavirus infections, though no immediate restrictions are planned, AFP reports. “We are now in a situation of maximum alert,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters. “I ask you, the Japanese people, to fully implement principles such as wearing masks.”

11.52 am: Uttarakhand minister Madan Kaushik tells ANI the government has decided to postpone the opening of colleges in the state till complete information about the rise of coronavirus infections during the festival season is received. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state Cabinet, he says.

11.40 am: The all-party meeting called by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal begins.

11.27 am: Pfizer and BioNTech may secure emergency authorisation for their vaccine in the US and European next month, Reuters reports.

“If all goes well I could imagine that we gain approval in the second half of December and start deliveries before Christmas, but really only if all goes positively,” BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin tells Reuters.

Also read: Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine 95% effective in phase-3 study, says company

9.20 am: India records 45,576 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, taking the the country’s total to 89,58,483. The toll rises to 1,31,578 with 585 more deaths. The number of active cases stood at 4,43,303. As many as 83,83,602 people have recovered from the disease so far

8.43 am: Europe’s Covid-19 cases fell last week for the first time in over three months, but deaths continued to rise, AFP reports, citing data from the World Health Organization.

8.36 am: Mizoram reports 32 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, which take its tally to 3,513, including. The state’s toll stands at five.

8.35 am: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will hold an all-party meeting on Thursday in view of the surge in coronavirus cases in the Capital.

Also read

Coronavirus: Delhi registers record 131 deaths in a day, CM Arvind Kejriwal calls all-party meeting

8.33 am: Sikkim’s tally rose to 4,577 on Wednesday with 29 new cases, PTI reports. Three more deaths pushed the state’s toll to 95.

8.31 am: Odisha reported 866 new cases on Wednesday, which took its tally to 3,10,920, according to PTI.

8.30 am: The number of deaths from the coronavirus in the United States rises to 2,50,483, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The country’s tally stands at 1,15,25,149.

8.29 am: Here are the top updates from Wednesday:

  1. Drug manufacturer Pfizer on Wednesday announced that the phase three study of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate being developed in collaboration with German biotechnology company BioNTech has met all “primary efficacy endpoints”. The vaccine was 95% effective in phase-3 study.
  2. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal approved the Aam Aadmi Party government’s proposal to allow only 50 guests at weddings, instead of the earlier limit of 200.
  3. The Capital on Wednesday registered 131 coronavirus deaths – its highest one-day count so far. The Capital’s tally rose to 5,03,084 as it reported 7,486 new cases in the last 24 hours.
  4. The Indian Council of Medical Research issued an advisory warning against “indiscriminate use” of the convalescent plasma therapy, as a treatment for the coronavirus infection.
  5. The United States Food and Drug Administration approved the first self-testing kit for home use for coronavirus that provides results within 30 minutes.