1. India reported a record 52,123 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, taking its overall count to 15,83,792. The toll rose to 34,968 with 775 more deaths. In India, 10,20,582 people have recovered from the coronavirus.
  2. Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday said that herd immunity was not a strategic option in a country with the size and population of India. He added that India’s recovery rate – 64.4% – and fatality rate – 2.21% – were better than that of many other countries.
  3. Maharashtra registered a record single-day rise of 11,147 coronavirus cases on Thursday. The state now has 4,11,798 infections. This includes 14,729 deaths, 2,48,615 recoveries and 1,48,454 active cases. The Maharashtra government said it will keep indoor gyms and fitness centres shut in “Unlock 3”. Outdoor fitness spaces will be allowed to open from August 5 in accordance with the Centre’s guidelines.
  4. A priest and 16 police officers on duty in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya city have tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the ground-breaking ceremony of a Ram temple on August 5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the “bhoomi poojan” or the foundation ceremony.
  5. The Tamil Nadu government extended the lockdown in the state till August 31 but allowed relaxations like dine-in services in hotels and restaurants. Tamil Nadu’s coronavirus case count rose to 2,39,978, after 5,864 new cases were reported. The toll in the state went up by 97 to 3,838.
  6. The Bihar government has also extended the lockdown due to coronavirus till August 16, while Nagaland extended it till August 31.
  7. Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport announced that it will suspend flight operations for seven days in August, when there will be a complete lockdown in West Bengal. The dates on which flights won’t operate from the airport are August 5, 8, 16, 17, 23, 24 and 31. Meanwhile, the suspension of flights from Kolkata to Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Nagpur and Ahmedabad has been extended till August 15.
  8. Brazil reopened international flights even as coronavirus cases in the country continue to increase at an alarming rate. The country has reported more than 25 lakh cases and over 90,000 deaths so far. Meanwhile, Italy extended the state of emergency due to the coronavirus crisis till October 15. The country reported 289 new cases on Wednesday, taking the total to 2,46,776. Italy’s toll also rose to 35,129 with six new deaths.
  9. The toll in the United States surpassed 1,50,000 with more than 1,200 deaths on Wednesday. The country’s tally has crossed 44 lakh.
  10. The global coronavirus count crossed 1.70 crore and the toll reached 6,67,935, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The number of recoveries went up to 99,95,227.