Coronavirus: Latest updates on COVID-19 crisis around the world

6:27 a.m. Three coronavirus patients were killed after a fire broke out in the ICU of a designated COVID-19 hospital in Gujarat's Rajkot in the early hours of Friday, a fire brigade official said.. 6:27 a.m. Three coronavirus patients were killed after a fire broke out in the ICU of a designated COVID-19 hospital in Gujarat's Rajkot in the early hours of Friday, a fire brigade official said..

Here are the latest updates on the coronavirus crisis in India and other parts of the world on Friday. 3:07 p.m.

Novel coronavirus mutations do not appear to increase transmissibility, study says. 2:48 p.m.

The Delhi High Court has refused to extend the interim bail of one month granted to Unitech Ltd promoter Ajay Chandra due to the illness of his wife who was suffering from COVID-19. 2:10 p.m.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday termed as "distressing" the fire in a designated COVID-19 hospital in Rajkot and urged the Gujarat government to investigate the incident. 1:57 p.m.

As many as 39 people including pilgrims, police personnel and temple employees, have tested positive for coronavirus in Sabarimala so far since the Lord Ayyappa temple here was openedfor the annual pilgrimage season on November 16. 1:50 p.m.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit pharma major Zydus Cadila's plant near Ahmedabad on Saturday to get information about the development of its COVID-19 vaccine, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said on Friday. 1:47 p.m.

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and pharma firm Hetero have agreed to produce over 100 million doses per year in India of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, Russia's sovereign wealth fund said in a statement. 1:37 p.m.

The Supreme Court Friday took cognizance of the fire incident in a COVID-19 hospital at Rajkot in which several patients have died and sought report from Gujarat government on the issue. The COVID-19 caseload in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district has reached 42,914, after 157 persons tested positive for the infection, an official said on Friday.

1:19 p.m. Thane records 742 new COVID-19 cases and 14 more deaths.

1:05 p.m. Nearly 70 per cent of India's COVID-19 active caseload from eight states/UT, Health ministry says.

12:46 p.m. COVID-19 virus may hijack our cells’ cholesterol system to spread through body, study says.

Odisha reports 594 new COVID-19 cases and 14 more deaths. 12:07 p.m.

India on Friday assured the people of Nepal that once it rolls out a vaccine against COVID-19, meeting their requirement will be a priority for New Delhi, amid a spike of the deadly disease in the Himalayan nation. 11:49 a.m. Around 1,000 volunteers, required for the proposed phase III trial of Covaxin -- the vaccine for COVID-19 -- at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Disease (NICED) in Kolkata, will be selected from among the people living within a radius of 10-15 km of the city, a senior official said on Friday.

11:28 a.m. The Delhi Police on Friday used tear gas shells to disperse a group of farmers who had reached the Singhu border as part of their 'Delhi Chalo' march to protest against the Centre's new farm laws, a senior police officer said.

11:27 a.m. The union territory of Puducherry registered 16 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday taking the overall tally to 36,856, a top Health department official said.

11:05 a.m. Five coronavirus patients were killed after a fire broke out in the ICU of a designated COVID-19 hospital in Gujarat's Rajkot in the early hours of Friday, state Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said.

10:42 a.m. India's COVID-19 tally of cases climbed to 93.09 lakh with 43,082 new cases in a day the death toll climbed to 1,35,715 with the novel coronavirus virus claiming 492 lives in a span of 24 hours, official data says.

10:04 a.m. CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya has tested positive for the COVID-19, following which he is in home isolation, health department sources said on Friday.

9:51 a.m. Even as the number of tourists visiting Goa is witnessing a steady rise of late, especially since Diwali, the tourism industry of the state that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, has failed to benefit much out of it owing to several factors, its stakeholders say.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit vaccine maker Bharat Biotech's facility here on Saturday, the Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar said. 9:46 a.m.

The COVID-19 tally of Andaman and Nicobar Islands rose to 4,682 on Friday as five more persons tested positive for the infection, a health official said. 9:34 a.m.

Twenty-three more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram on Friday, pushing the state's coronavirus tally to 3,788, an official said. 9:24 a.m.

Five coronavirus patients were killed after a fire broke out in the ICU of a designated COVID-19 hospital in Gujarat's Rajkot in the early hours of Friday, a fire brigade official said. 9:07 a.m.

Jharkhand's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,08,388 as 230 more people tested positive for the infection, a health official said on Friday. 6:27 a.m.

Three coronavirus patients were killed after a fire broke out in the ICU of a designated COVID-19 hospital in Gujarat's Rajkot in the early hours of Friday, a fire brigade official said..