Current Affairs in Short: 22 December 2020

Odisha fixes Rapid Antigen Test cost by private labs at Rs 100

•The Odisha state government has fixed the maximum price for Rapid Antigen Test conducted by private laboratories at Rs 100, which is inclusive of GST tax. 
•The same was announced through a notification by Odisha's Health and Family Welfare Department on December 21, 2020. 
•The notification further stated that the Rapid tests will be conducted by Private Laboratories under the supervision of RMRC, Bhubaneswar following ICMR guidelines on testing. 

US President-Elect Joe Biden receives Covid-19 vaccine publicly

•US President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine publicly on December 22, 2020.
•He was administered the dose by a nurse practitioner at Christiana Care hospital in Delaware. He was given the vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNtech. 
•Biden said that he is doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared to take the vaccine when it is available. 
Earlier on December 18, 2020 US Vice President Mike Pence received the vaccine publicly at a White House event. Several other members of Congress also received the vaccine.

Air India asks crew to remain isolated during domestic, international layovers

•Leading Indian airlines, Air India has directed its crew members to remain isolated at all domestic and international destinations for the complete duration of their stay in the wake of the discovery of the new mutated strain of coronavirus. 
•In a circular addressed to all pilots and cabin crew, the airlines said that given the gravity of the situation, crew laying over at all domestic/international stations must strictly comply to the directions and completely isolate themselves in their rooms during their stay. 
•The circular further read that the new strain of COVID-19 has been termed to be out of control and the situation has been declared to be alarming. The direction was issued after the Civil Aviation Ministry banned all flights to and from the United Kingdom, effective from 11:59 pm on December 22, 2020 till December 31, 2020. 

Second inauguration of Trump on January 20?

•As per reports, thousands of US President Donald Trump’s supporters are planning to hold a second inauguration of the outgoing president on January 20, 2020, on the same day as US President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration as the 46th President of the United States., 
•Over 60,000 people have indicated on social media that they plan to attend the virtual event, which is being called as "Donald J. Trump 2nd Presidential Inauguration Ceremony." 
•The event is scheduled to be held at noon on January 20, around the same time as Biden’s swearing-in. The incumbent US President Donald Trump is yet to concede defeat in the US Presidential Elections 2020. 

US imposes additional visa restrictions on Chinese officials over rights abuses

•The United States has imposed additional visa restrictions on Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses. This was announced by US State Secretary Michael Pompeo on December 21, 2020. 
•He added saying that China's authoritarian rulers impose draconian restrictions on the freedom of expression of the Chinese people. 
•He further stated that the US has been clear that perpetrators of human rights abuses like these are not welcome in our country.
•The additional visa restrictions have been imposed on the Chinese officials believed to be responsible for policies or actions aimed at repressing religious and spiritual practitioners, journalists, peaceful protestors, human rights defenders and members of ethnic minority groups.