1. India on Wednesday recorded the biggest one-day increase in coronavirus deaths after 507 new casualties were reported, taking the toll to 17,400. With 18,653 new cases, the total number of infections in the country rose to 5,85,493. The recovery rate stood at 59.43%, according to data released by the health ministry.
  2. Tamil Nadu recorded 3,882 new coronavirus cases in the evening, taking the state’s tally to 94,049. With 63 deaths, the toll rose to 1,264. Delhi reported 2,442 new cases, taking the total count to 89,802. Its toll climbed to 2,803, with 61 more fatalities. In Maharashtra, 5,537 new cases were reported, the highest in a single day.
  3. The second phase of easing lockdown restrictions, called “Unlock 2.0”, started on Thursday. Many curbs on movement have been relaxed, though schools, cinemas, gyms and bars will remain shut. The operations of domestic flights and passenger trains will be further extended.
  4. The Goa government permitted tourism from Friday. However, it said that tourists must bring certificates attesting to their Covid-19 negative status, or get tested at the state border.
  5. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the coronavirus situation in the Capital was improving, but given the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, there was no room for complacency.
  6. Schools in Haryana will reopen from July 27, an order issued by the state education department said. However, colleges will remain closed till July 31. Schools in India have been shut since the first 21-day national lockdown imposed in March, some from a week or two earlier, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  7. The Ministry of AYUSH has gave permission to Patanjali Ayurved to sell the company’s particular formulation as immunity booster and not as a medicinal cure for the coronavirus. Yoga guru Ramdev had last week launched a drug called “Coronil”, claiming it can cure the coronavirus.
  8. The organisers of Mumbai’s biggest Ganesh puja, Lalbaughcha Raja, cancelled this year’s celebrations for the first time in its 84-year history in view of the coronavirus outbreak. They will instead arrange blood donation and an awareness camp to promote plasma donation. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, preventing the gathering of groups of people, till July 15.
  9. US President Donald Trump said that he was growing “more and more angry at China” over the spread of the coronavirus, as the American government’s top health expert warned that the rate of Covid-19 infections could double to 1 lakh a day if current outbreaks were not contained.
  10. The global coronavirus tally has crossed the one crore-mark, with 10,512,383 cases so far. The toll rose to 5.12 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 53.87 lakh people have recovered.