1. India registered a record single-day increase of 26,506 new cases on Friday morning, pushing the country’s tally to 7,93,802. The toll in the country stood at 21,604 with 475 new fatalities. More than 4.95 lakh people have recovered. The Centre said the recovery has improved to 62.42%.
  2. A 10-day lockdown will be imposed in Maharashtra’s Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad cities from July 13 to July 23 due to surge in coronavirus cases. Essential services will be allowed during this period.
  3. Maharashtra recorded the highest single-day surge with 7,862 new coronavirus cases. The state’s tally rose to 2,38,461. With 226 new deaths, the toll stood at 9,893. Similarly, West Bengal reported its highest 24-hour rise in coronavirus cases for the third consecutive day, with 1,198 new infections. The state’s case count jumped to 27,109 and toll touched 880 after 26 casualties.
  4. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced that lockdown will be extended in Thiruvananthapuram district for a week, and a “triple lockdown” will be imposed in its containment zones.
  5. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the decision to conduct final-year exams was unfair. He said the exams should be cancelled and students should be promoted on the basis of their past performance.
  6. The West Bengal government also wrote to the Centre objecting to its directive to universities and other academic institutions to conduct final-year examinations by the end of September. It urged the Ministry of Human Resource Development to reconsider the matter in the interest of the physical and mental well-being of students amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  7. Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that he will go into self-quarantine for five days after a few employees in his office-cum-residence tested positive for the coronavirus.
  8. The Centre justified the creation of the PM CARES fund and said that the mere existence of a statutory fund under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, would not prohibit the setting up of a different one that provides for voluntary donations. The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations was created on March 28 in response to the coronavirus crisis.
  9. The World Health Organization acknowledged that coronavirus may linger in the air in crowded indoor spaces, spreading from person to person. This came days after more than 200 scientists had urged the agency to revisit the research and revise its position.
  10. The global coronavirus count is now over 1.23 crore, while the toll has crossed 5.54 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 67 lakh people have recovered so far.