Coronavirus live updates: BJP slams Kerala government's free Covid vaccine plan

Japan saw more than 3,000 new infections of the novel coronavirus for the first time in one day on Saturday, public broadcaster NHK reported, as the number of cases continues to rise in the winter.

Malaysia reported 1,937 new Covid-19 infections, bringing the national total to 82,246, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The US green-lit the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine late Friday, paving the way for millions of vulnerable people to receive their shots in the world's hardest-hit country.

The Haryana government has written to the Centre to have public representatives including MPs and MLAs listed among the priority groups for Covid-19 vaccination once it begins, health minister Anil Vij on Saturday.

Odisha's Covid-19 death toll crossed the 1,800-mark on Saturday as four more patients succumbed to the disease, while 335 new cases pushed the tally to 3,23,364, a health department official said.

Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Saturday instructed senior officials to deploy a special Covid-19 officer during the upcoming Kumbh Mela.

Chile reported 1,531 new Covid-19 cases during the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload to 567,974, according to data released by the ministry of health on Friday. The country also recorded eight more death cases, increasing the total death toll to 15,782, it added.

More than 69.87 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,588,828? have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

Colombia on Friday reported 8,998 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the nationwide tally to 1,408,909, according to its health authorities. The country also confirmed 185 new fatalities from the virus, raising the total death toll to 38,669, said the National Institute of Health.

Mexico reported 12,253 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, bringing the national total to 1,229,379. Meanwhile, the country's death toll from the virus increased by 693 to 113,019.

The Department of Health of the Philippines on Saturday reported 1,301 new confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection, bringing the total number in the country to 448,331.