11.08 pm: Two passengers arriving from the United Kingdom to Delhi test positive for the coronavirus, reports ANI. The flight was carrying 256 passengers from London.

11.06 pm: West Bengal reports 926 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally in the state to 5,59,099. The toll climbs by 21 to 9,902. There are 8,245 active cases, while 5,40,952 people have been cured of the disease so far.

11.05 pm: Punjab registers 301 new coronavirus cases, 15 deaths and 252 recoveries, reports PTI. The overall tally stands at 1,68,486, including 5,437 fatalities, 3,007 active cases and 1,60,042 discharges.

11.02 pm: Three returnees from the United Kingdom test positive for the coronavirus in Kerala, reports PTI. The state registers 5,142 new infections, pushing the cases tally to 8,01,075. The toll rises by 23 to 3,257. There are 7,33,384 recoveries and 64,236 active cases in the state.

10.59 pm: London Mayor Sadiq Khan declares a major incident in the city, warning hospitals in the British capital could soon be overwhelmed because of a surge in coronavirus infections linked to a new strain. “One in 30 Londoners now has Covid-19. If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die,” he tweets.

10.50 pm: Britain records 1,325 coronavirus deaths, the highest daily fatality since the start of the pandemic in April, reports Bloomberg.

8.20 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers of all states via video conferencing on January 11. They will discuss the Covid-19 situation and the vaccination rollout, the PMO says in a statement.

7.21 pm: Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport tweets a clarification of coronavirus testing and isolation rules for all those arriving on flights from the United Kingdom. The airport clarifies that the waiting time for Covid-19 test results may extend up to 10 hours. “Cost of the test and lounge at the Delhi Airport is Rs 3,400 per person and shall be incurred by the passenger,” the statement reads.

7.18 pm: Visuals from a coronavirus vaccination dry site in Gujarat.

7.11 pm: Movie theatres in Kolkata can operate with 100% seating capacity, if Covid-19 safety protocols are followed, announces West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, reports NDTV.

7.10 pm: Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, becoming the first member of the Cabinet to be inoculated, reports PTI.

7.08 pm: The World Health Organisation’s experts have issued recommendations that the interval between administration of two doses of the Pfizer vaccine can be extended to up to six weeks, reports PTI.

7.04 pm: The United Kingdom’s regulatory authority has approved a third Covid-19 vaccine for use in the country, made by drug firm Moderna, according to PTI.

7.03 pm: Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued guidelines to all aircraft operators who plan to transport Covid-19 vaccines packed in dry ice to various parts of India, reports PTI.

7.01 pm: Maharashtra records 3,693 new Covid-19 cases, taking tally to 19,61,975, reports PTI. The toll goes up to 49,970 with 73 deaths.

4.43 pm: Tamil Nadu government has reversed its order of full occupancy in movie halls following an objection from the Centre, reports NDTV. The state had on Monday increased the seating capacity of cinemas, theatres, multiplexes from existing 50% to 100%.

4.17 pm: Delhi’s tally rises to 6,29,282 with 444 new cases. The toll stands at 10,654 with 10 additional deaths in the last 24 hours.

4.07 pm: Kerala conducts dry run of vaccine at 46 centres across 14 districts in the state, reports IANS.

2.58 pm: The Delhi government makes it mandatory for passengers from UK who test negative for the infection to undergo seven-day institutional quarantine and then home quarantine for seven days, ANI reports. Those who test positive will go to an isolation facility, in accordance with the Centre’s guidelines.

14.49 pm: The police in Thane book eight activists from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena for defying a coronavirus-related ban on entering a hot water spring inside a temple, PTI reports.

2.47 pm: The United Kingdom extends England entry ban for travelers from 11 African countries amid concerns over the coronavirus variant found in South Africa, Reuters reports.

2.42 pm: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urges the state government to ask for Centre’s help and provide free vaccines to the poor and middle-class sections, PTI reports.

2.41 pm: Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar says the state is likely to receive 13,90,000 vials of the coronavirus vaccine in a day or two, according to PTI.

2.38 pm: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will hold a meeting with his ministers and administrative officials on January 11 to finalise the action plan for vaccine distribution, PTI reports.

2.28 pm: The World Health Organization says vaccine deliveries under the COVAX program could start this month, Reuters reports. The program is meant to help low-income countries.

14.12 pm: Union health minister Harsh Vardhan inspects a vaccine storage facility in Chennai. He is in the city to review the vaccine dry run.

1.28 pm: A vaccine that could shorten the infectious period of Covid-19 in patients, even by a day, may potentially prevent millions of cases, according to a new modelling study, reports PTI.

1.25 pm: A chart shows how the gap between recovered and active Covid-19 cases has increased between June 2020 and January 8.

1.22 pm: Seventeen states and Union Territories have deaths per million higher than the national average, the Centre says. Delhi has the maximum number of deaths per million population at 569.

1.19 pm: The total number of cases infected with the new strain of the coronavirus, first reported in the United Kingdom, now stands at 82, says the Union health ministry.

1.14 pm: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan says the entire Indian population will soon be vaccinated against Covid-19 after prioritising risk groups, reports PTI. “In the next few days, also in the near future, we should be able to give this vaccine to our countrymen prioritising those who are at risk in public and private sectors,” he says. “The government has already made known the scheme of things.”

11.49 am: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan says India has done well in short time in developing vaccines, reports ANI.

11.46 am: Second dry run for vaccination process underway at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, reports ANI.

11.44 am: 15 vaccination units have been set up and 25 healthcare workers selected for dry run of vaccination process, says Dr Rajesh Dere, vaccination centre in-charge at BKC Jumbo dedicated Covid-19 hospital, in Mumbai, reports ANI.

11.40 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take the first shot of the coronavirus vaccine in the country, says Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tej Pratap Yadav, reports ANI.

11.39 am: Flight service between India and United Kingdom resumes, reports ANI. 256 passengers arrive in Delhi from London.

11.33 am: Research by University of Texas Medical Branch shows Pfizer vaccine can protect against the mutated strains of the virus found in United Kingdom and South Africa, reports AP.

9.26 am: India reports 18,139 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its tally to 1,04,13,417. The country’s toll rises by 234 to 1,50,570. India’s active cases stand at 2,25,449, while the recoveries reach 1,00,3,7398.

9.25 am: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan visits the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai to review the vaccine dry run.

9.20 am: Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai prepares for the vaccine dry run, ANI reports.

9.16 am: A second countrywide dry run for the coronavirus vaccine will be held on Friday. It will cover 736 districts across 33 states and Union Territories. Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Haryana will not take part in this dry run as they have already completed the exercise in all districts, according to NDTV. The first such dry run in India took place on January 2.

9 am: Here are the top updates from Thursday:

  1. The Union health ministry wrote to four states – Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal – about taking prompt steps to keep a “strict vigil” to curb the spread of Covid-19. These four states have been witnessing a sharp increase in new infections.
  2. The Supreme Court expressed concern about the possible spread of coronavirus due to the large gatherings at the farmers’ protest sites near Delhi. The court noted that the farmers’ protest could lead to a similar situation as the Tablighi Jamaat event, and asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta about the measures undertaken by the Centre to stop the infection from spreading.
  3. India registered 20,346 new cases, taking its tally to 1,03,95,279. The new cases were about 12% higher than Wednesday’s count. The country’s toll rose by 222 to 1,50,336. India’s active cases stood at 2,28,083, while the recoveries reached 1,00,16,859.
  4. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the Centre to extend the ban on flights between India and the United Kingdom till January 31 amid the Covid-19 situation in Britain.
  5. Drug firm Bharat Biotech said it had enrolled 25,800 volunteers for the phase three clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine.
  6. Britain registered more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths for the first time. The country is fighting against a faster spreading mutant strain of the infection.