1. India on Saturday morning recorded a new daily high. It reported 18,552 new cases in 24 hours, taking the country’s coronavirus tally rose to 5,08,953, and the toll to 15,685 this morning. Of the total cases, 1,97,387 people are still being treated, while 2,95,880 have recovered.
  2. The Indian government on Saturday allowed the use of the drug dexamethasone to treat coronavirus patients with severe and moderate symptoms.
  3. The Centre on Saturday said that eight states have reported 85.5% of the active cases of the coronavirus and 87% of the overall deaths from the disease in the country. These states are Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
  4. Karnataka on Saturday announced that a curfew will be imposed on Sundays from July 5 to combat the coronavirus. It also changed the night curfew timings to 8 pm to 5 am. The state recorded its highest ever daily rise of 918 cases, taking its tally to 11,923. Kerala, however, lifted its curfew on Sundays.
  5. Kerala also reported a record 195 new cases in a day, its highest ever, taking its total to 4,071. Another state to set a daily record on Saturday was Maharashtra, with 5,318 new cases. Its tally is now 1,59,133. Tamil Nadu, meanwhile, reported 3,713 new cases and 68 deaths in a day, taking the state’s count to 78,335 and the toll to 1,025. Delhi’s tally crossed 80,000 with 2,948 new cases.
  6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, said India was in a better state than other countries and attributed this to his government’s initiatives such as the countrywide lockdown.
  7. A first information report was filed against yoga guru Ramdev, the chief executive officer of Patanjali Acharya Balkrishna, and three others in Jaipur for allegedly making misleading claims that they have found a herbal cure for the coronavirus
  8. The coronavirus outbreak, which brought India’s financial capital Mumbai to a standstill, appears to be entering the slower phase after the doubling rate increased from 30 to 41 days. A report by the city’s civic authority said the prevention plan has been effective due to aggressive testing and isolation strategy.
  9. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in its 2020 World Drug Report, has highlighted a wide range of possible consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on illegal drug production, supply and consumption.
  10. The coronavirus has infected over 98 lakh people and nearly five lakh patients have died so far in the world, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Over 49 lakh people have recovered.