The govt of India said that domestic airlines will now be allowed to operate up to 80 per cent of their pre-coronavirus capacity. Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said domestic operations, which began with 30,000 passengers on 25 May have reached 252,000 as of 30 November. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court expressed its concern over the violation of Covid-19 guidelines on wearing protection masks at public places and maintaining physical distance and asked the Centre to suggest ways for its effective implementation.
India's daily coronavirus infections stayed below the 50,000 mark for the 26th day last week. The country now has a total of 95,34,964 cases, while as many as 89,73,373 people have recovered. The toll rose by 526 to 1,38,648. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 64.4 million people and killed over 14,91,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University. Over 40 million people have recovered from the infection.
Guleria pins hope on Covid vaccine
AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria pinned his hopes on the five Covid-19 vaccine candidates which are in advanced stages of a clinical trial in India, stating they are logistically feasible for distribution in both urban and rural areas. His assertion comes amid Pfizer-BioNTech's anti-coronavirus vaccine getting emergency clearance in the UK, paving the way for mass vaccinations against the deadly novel coronavirus from as early as next week.
Dr Guleria expressed hope that by the end of this month or early next month, at least one of the five vaccines being locally-tested should get emergency use authorisation from the drug regulator to be administered to the public starting with priority groups. According to sources, global pharma giant Pfizer had talks with the Indian government late August, but since then there has been no development.
Meanwhile, Pfizer said it remains committed to engaging with the Indian government to explore opportunities to make Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine available in the country. "Right now we are in discussions with many governments around the world and remain committed to engaging with the Government of India and explore opportunities to make this vaccine available for use in the country," a Pfizer spokesperson said in a statement.
