1. India reported a record increase of 96,550 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its tally to 45,62,414. The country’s toll rose by 1,209 to 76,271. As many as 35,42,663 people have recovered from the infection. India’s recovery rate is currently 77.65%, while the mortality rate is 1.67%.
  2. A serological survey conducted by scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research has found that India had an estimated 64 lakh coronavirus cases by early May. The paper underwent peer review and was published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research on Thursday. The findings show that for every confirmed case in May, there were 82-130 infections that went undetected.
  3. Kerala’s Covid-19 tally reached 1,02,254, with 2,988 new cases. The toll touched 410, with 14 more deaths.
  4. The tally in Maharashtra, India’s worst-affected state, rose to 10,15,681 with 393 additional deaths and 24,886 fresh cases on Friday. Meanwhile, Delhi registered 4,266 new coronavirus cases and 21 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the Capital’s tally to 2,09,748 and toll to 4,687. Friday was the third consecutive day that Delhi reported over 4,000 new infections.
  5. World Health Organization Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that AstraZeneca’s pause of the trial of the “Oxford vaccine” should not discourage researchers and must instead be taken as a wake up call. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said the vaccine could still be ready before the end of the year.
  6. Another sero survey conducted in Andhra Pradesh has revealed that 20% of the 5.34 crore population of the state has acquired immunity to the coronavirus. In August, the survey conducted in two phases with a sample size of 5,000 in each of the 13 districts showed that 19.7% of people developed antibodies for SARS-CoV-2, the infection-causing virus.
  7. The Assam government updated its quarantine rules and said that if a person travels outside the state and returns within 96 hours, they will not be required to undergo the 10-day quarantine. However, they have to first take a test.
  8. All the members of the Great Andamanese tribe in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, who had tested positive for the coronavirus, have recovered, Chief Secretary Chetan Sanghi said.
  9. The United Nations has sought an immediate and “quantum leap” in funding for global programmes to fight the coronavirus.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 2.8 crore people and killed 9,07,980, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The number of worldwide recoveries has crossed 1.88 crore.