Coronavirus live updates: Oxford Covid vaccine 'safe and well-tolerated' in older age groups

From helping in optimising the yield of therapeutics to training staff for setting up large-scale manufacturing sites, cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) can be used to fast track Covid-19 vaccine development worldwide, experts say.

A report by the United Nations has cited efforts by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to leverage its geospatial tools in assisting the central and state governments towards containing the Covid-19 pandemic and supporting sustainable development projects in the country.

For the fifth consecutive day Covid-19 recoveries in Arunachal Pradesh surpassed fresh cases with 71 more patients being cured of the disease, a health official said on Thursday. The state registered 41 new coronavirus cases, including three security personnel and two healthcare workers, pushing the tally to 15,945, he said.

All over the world, workers are soaping, wiping and fumigating surfaces with an urgent sense of purpose: to fight the coronavirus. But scientists increasingly say that there is little to no evidence that contaminated surfaces can spread the virus. In crowded indoor spaces like airports, they say, the virus that is exhaled by infected people and that lingers in the air is a much greater threat.

India's Covid-19 caseload rose to 89.58 lakh with fresh 45,576 infections, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to over 83.83 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 93.58 per cent, according to data updated by the Union health ministry on Thursday.

Telangana reported 1,058 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally to over 2.6 lakh while four fatalities pushed the toll to 1,419, the state government said on Thursday. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 168, followed by Medchal Malkajgiri (93) and Rangareddy (91), it said in a bulletin, providing details as of 8 PM on November 18.

Total active cases at 4,43,303 after a decrease of 3,502 in the last 24 hrs. Total discharged cases at 83,83,603 with 48,493 new discharges in last 24 hrs.