Coronavirus live updates: India's indigenous vaccine against Covid-19 Covaxin achieves remarkable feat, says ICMR

There is chaos in government and congressional circles on Wednesday after Trump unexpectedly threatened to torpedo a spending bill, demanding $2000 per individual in stimulus payment instead of $600 that a bipartisan legislation provides. Democrats, who had reluctantly agreed to the lower sum in the face of an obdurate and fiscally conservative Republicans, instantly agreed with the President's stand even as Trump's flock was thrown into confusion.

Except for essential activities, movement of individuals is prohibited: CMO

Amid concerns over a new variant of the coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that those who came to the state from abroad between November 25 and December 8 should undergo tests for detection of Covid-19. Those who arrived in UP from abroad after December 9 must undergo RT-PCR test, he told officials at a review meeting.

The aviation ministry has sought exempting airline crew members from the requirement of institutional quarantining everyone coming from the UK. The new rule was framed on Monday afternoon when India decided to suspend passenger flights till the year-end, while cargo flights and those specifically permitted by aviation authorities here can continue to operate.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called on people on Wednesday to keep calm after the island confirmed its first locally transmitted case of COVID-19 since April 12, as the government announced negative tests so far for the person's contacts. Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control thanks to early and effective prevention methods and widespread use of masks, with all new cases for more than the last 250 days being among travellers arriving on the island.

Scientists have developed a method to measure aerosol concentrations and persistence in public spaces using commercial hand-held particle counters, an advance that may help determine the impacts of Covid-19risk-reducing measures, like ventilation improvements.

In the wake of a new coronavirus strain detected in the UK, Maharashtra Covid-19 task force head Dr Sanjay Oak on Wednesday said vaccines currently available in some countries may not be 100 per cent effective against the new variant. Talking to reporters here, Oak also said mass gatherings were acting as COVID-19 super-spreaders and should be avoided. He said there was a need to be careful, and that he feels people need to wear mask for next one year.