9.25 pm: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will quarantine himself for seven days as two MLAs who met him in the Vidhan Sabha earlier today have tested positive, ANI reports.

9 pm: Tamil Nadu reports 5,996 new cases, 5,752 recoveries and 102 deaths in a day. The state’s tally is now 4,09,238, including 7,050 deaths, ANI reports.

8.23 pm: New cases in other states:

West Bengal: 2,982 new cases, tally rises to 1,53,754; toll at 3,073.

Punjab: 1,555 new cases, tally rises to 49,378; toll at 1,307.

Goa: 523 new cases, tally rises to 16,006; toll at 175 deaths.

8.22 pm: Asian and Commonwealth Games gold-winning wrestler Vinesh Phogat tests positive for the coronavirus, PTI reports.

8.18 pm: Karnataka records nearly 9,000 new cases on Friday, taking its total to 3,18,752. The state’s toll stands at 136.

8.14 pm: Andhra Pradesh’s coronavirus tally crosses 4 lakh as the state records 10,526 cases in the last 24 hours. The state now has 4,03,616 cases. Andhra Pradesh’s toll rises by 81 to 3,714.

8.12 pm: Maharashtra reports 14,361 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its tally to 7,47,995. The state’s toll rises by 331 to 23,775.

7.22 pm: Tamil Nadu Congress MP Harikrishnan Vasanthakumar, who had tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month, dies, PTTV reports.

7.03 pm: Multiple members of the Chennai Super Kings contingent test positive for Covid-19, resulting in the franchise extending its mandatory quarantine period in Dubai ahead of the Indian Premier League season.

Read here: Multiple members of CSK contingent test positive for Covid-19, one India player among them: Reports

6.58 pm: Delhi reports 1,808 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its tally to 1,69,412. The Capital’s toll rises by 20 to 4,389.

6.44 pm: Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Karnataka minister HD Revanna tests positive for the coronavirus, ANI reports.

6.41 pm: The Bombay High Court allows Taziya procession on Muharram in Mumbai with not more than five people, ANI reports. No other procession is allowed anywhere in Maharashtra.

6.39 pm: Kerala reports 2,543 new cases on Friday, taking its tally to 45,858.

4.55 pm: German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the coronavirus pandemic will make things more difficult in the coming months, Reuters reports. “It will probably get more difficult,” she says.

4.52 pm: Texas-based Baylor College of Medicine has entered into a licensing agreement with Indian pharmaceutical company Biological E Limited for the development of a safe, effective and affordable vaccine against the coronavirus, PTI reports.

4.49 pm: The Haryana government announces that all offices, shopping complex and malls, except those dealing with essential services, will remain closed on Mondays and Tuesdays until further orders, ANI reports.

4.45 pm: Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane says the government plans to focus on the Covid-19 containment zones in the state and urge the recovered patients of coronavirus from these areas to donate their plasma, PTI reports.

4.43 pm: The tally of coronavirus cases in Andaman and Nicobar Islands rises to 3,018 on Friday as 33 more people tested positive, while one more fatality pushes toll to 42, PTI reports.

4.42 pm: Uttar Pradesh registers 5,447 new coronavirus cases and 77 deaths on Friday, pushing the state’s tally of infections to 2,13,824, PTI reports. The toll rises to 3,294.

2.19 pm: Fifty-two members of the Punjab Assembly attend the day-long monsoon session that began at 11am on Friday, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, PTI reports. Thirty MLAs in the state, including four ministers, have tested positive for the coronavirus so far. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh led the Assembly in paying tributes to the soldiers killed in Ladakh’s Galwan valley, the Covid warriors and Olympian Balbir Singh Senior.

1.30 pm: The Union health ministry says India’s Covid-19 recovery rate has touched 76.28%, as 60,177 people recovered from the disease in 24 hours on Friday. “The number of recoveries is nearly 3.5 times the active cases, which comprise 21.90% of the total cases,” says a statement by the ministry. “Higher number of recoveries has led to a constantly growing difference between recoveries and active cases. Crossing 18 lakhs, the difference stands at 18, 41,925 today.”

1.19 pm: Odisha’s coronavirus tally rises to 94,668 on Friday, with 3,6,82 new infections and eight deaths reported in 24 hours, PTI reports. The toll from the disease stands at 456.

1.13 pm: Delhi Congress leaders and workers, including its president Anil Kumar, were detained on Friday during a protest against conducting JEE and NEET exams, amid the pandemic, PTI reports. The party members were detained by the police near the Shastri Bhawan and taken to the Mandir Marg police station, Kumar tells the news agency.

1.09 pm: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation orders all airlines to put passengers, who do not wearing masks during flights, on their “no-fly list”, ANI reports.

1.07 pm: As many as 346 personnel of the Maharashtra Police test positive in 24 hours on Friday, pushing the tally of infections in the force to 14,641, ANI reports. The toll goes up by two to 148.

12.14 pm: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain says testing in the national Capital will be doubled soon.

12.10 pm: Telangana reports 2,932 new infections and 11 deaths, says the state health department.

12.09 pm: Rajasthan registers 557 new cases and seven deaths. The total number of cases in the state now stands at 76,572 including 14,730 active cases and 1,012 deaths.

12.08 pm: The Supreme Court says states cannot promote students without conducting final year examinations. However, the bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, allows the states to approach the University Grants Commission for an extension to its September 30 deadline for conducting final year exams.

Also read

Final year exams must be held but states can approach UGC for postponement, says SC

12.07 pm: The Supreme Court rejects a petition seeking to defer the Bihar Assembly elections due to the prevailing coronavirus crisis. The Assembly polls are scheduled to be held in November though the Election Commission is yet to announce the dates.

“Covid-19 cannot be a ground for stopping elections and interfering with the powers of the Election Commission,” says Justice Ashok Bhushan. “This court cannot tell the Chief Election Commissioner what to do. He [CEC] will consider everything.”

Also read

Bihar polls: SC says Covid-19 cannot be ground for deferring elections, calls plea premature

11.55 am: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has allowed airlines to serve pre-packed snacks, meals and beverages on domestic flights and hot meals on international flights, reports PTI. This service was suspended even after domestic flights resumed operations on May 25. “Airlines may serve pre-packed snacks/meals/pre-packed beverages on domestic flights depending on the duration of flight,” said the ministry.

Only single-use disposable trays, plates and cutlery should be used while serving food or beverages. “Crew shall wear a fresh set of gloves for every meal/beverage service,” said the ministry’s notification.

10.47 am: The World Health Organization reasserted its suggestion on Thursday that people exposed to Covid-19 should be tested even if they do not have symptoms, reports Reuters.

10.23 am: Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala says his state has collected nearly Rs 75 crore as “Covid Cess’’ on alcohol sales during a three-month period, beginning mid-May, reports PTI.

10.20 am: Ten members of the Greater Andamanese tribe in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have tested positive over the past month, BBC reports. Four of them living on a remote island were found to be infected last week, and six others who lived in a city tested positive a month ago.

10.15 am: US Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris criticises President Donald Trump for his handling of the coronavirus and says he ignored the warning signs about the virus and prioritised the stock market over the health of the American people, Bloomberg reports.

10.12 am: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday directed all private hospitals to report all Covid-19, Severe Acute Respiratory Infection, Influenza-like Illness cases to the health department of the Union Territory, ANI reports.

10.09 am: The Indian Council of Medical Research begins the second round of a sero survey to determine how many more Indians have been exposed to the Covid-19 infection since the first such exercise was conducted in May during the countrywide lockdown, the Hindustan Times reports.

9.29 am: India’s coronavirus tally rises to 33,87,500 after 77,266 new infections. The country’s toll goes up by 1,057 to 61,529.

8.07 am: Twenty-nine more cases have been reported in Mizoram in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the state to 1,003, ANI reports. A total of 500 people have been discharged so far, while the rest are active cases.

8.04 am: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare says that in the last five months, more than 75% of the cases have recovered, ANI reports. “Effective implementation of Centre’s strategic and graded Test-Track-Treat approach has led to higher recoveries and lower fatality,” the ministry claims.

8.01 am: Health Minister Satyendar Jain has written to Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, alleging that Delhi government officers are being “pressurised” by the Home Ministry to not increase coronavirus testing, PTI reports. A home ministry spokesperson though called the allegation “false and baseless”.

Also read:

Coronavirus: Centre rejects Delhi health minister’s allegations of pressuring to go slow on testing

7.57 am: The Tamil Nadu government has said that the Koyambedu wholesale market in Chennai, which had emerged as a super-spreader of the coronavirus and was closed in May, will be reopened in a phased manner from September 18, PTI reports. Entry of vehicles and people would be restricted and police will enforce physical distancing measures.

7.53 am: Here are the top updates from Thursday:

  • India’s overall case count on Thursday rose to 33,10,234 after 75,760 new infections were reported in 24 hours. The country’s toll went up by 1,023 to 60,472. As many as 25,23,771 people have recovered from the infection in the country.
  • Maharashtra recorded 14,718 new coronavirus cases in the evening, pushing its tally to 7,33,568. The state also reported 355 more deaths, taking its toll to 23,444. Meanwhile, Delhi witnessed the highest number of daily new cases in August after 1,840 new cases were reported. The total number of cases in the city stood at 1,67,604, while the toll rose to 4,369 with 22 more fatalities.  
  •   The coronavirus pandemic severely hit Goods and Services Tax, or GST, collection, creating a deficit of Rs 2.35 lakh crore for the 2020-’21 fiscal year.
  •   The Supreme Court refused permission for Muharram processions across the country, saying it would lead to chaos and targeting of a particular community amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  •   Minister for State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar and Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Sidharth Nath Singh tested positive for the coronavirus.
  •   India’s carbon emissions for 2020 are predicted to fall down by around 8% because of the coronavirus lockdown, a senior environment ministry official said.