1. India on Thursday reported nearly 67,000 new cases in 24 hours, taking the overall count to 23,96,637. The toll rose to 47,033 after 942 deaths were reported. As many as 56,383 more people recovered, taking the total number of discharged cases to 16,95,982. India’s coronavirus recovery rate reached 70.77% and the death rate fell to 1.96%. 
  2. Five security personnel of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur tested positive for the coronavirus, Surekha Chopra, chief medical officer, said.
  3. Nritya Gopal Das, the head of the Ram Janmabhoomi trust in Ayodhya, tested positive for coronavirus. Das had the shared stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ram temple on August 5. Karnataka Congress leader Siddaramaiah, meanwhile, was discharged from a hospital in Bengaluru after he recovered from the infection.
  4. Andhra Pradesh reported 9,996 coronavirus cases in a day. The state’s tally rose to 2,64,142 and the toll reached 2,378. The coronavirus cases in West Bengal rose to 1,07,323 with the highest single-day spike of 2,997 infections. The toll jumped to 2,259 after 56 people succumbed to the disease.
  5. The National Expert Group on vaccine administration for Covid-19 decided that the Centre would handle procurement of the vaccines. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical company Zydus Cadila announced the launch of what it said was the cheapest generic version of anti-viral drug remdesivir for Covid-19 treatment in India. One 100 gram vial of the medicine will cost Rs 2,800.
  6. Former President Pranab Mukherjee, who had tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday, remained on ventilator support. “He is deeply comatose with stable vital parameters and continues to be on ventilatory support,” the Army Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi said. 
  7. Entrepreneur Kumar Mangalam Birla said that the Indian economy may grow by 6% to 8% in the next fiscal year after recouping the losses during Covid-19.
  8. The Philippines government said it plans to launch clinical trials for the coronavirus vaccine developed by Russia in October. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, slashed its coronavirus toll by over 5,000 after adopting a new method to count the deaths. UK will from now only take into account the deaths that have happened within 28 days of patients testing positive for the coronavirus.
  9. At least 800 people died around the world because of coronavirus-related misinformation in the first three months of this year, according to a study published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Many died from drinking methanol or alcohol-based cleaning products, it added.  
  10. Globally, coronavirus has infected more than 2.06 crore people, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The worldwide toll has risen to 7,50,744. More than 1.28 crore people have recovered.