1. India’s coronavirus count rose to 62,25,763 after 80,472 cases were reported on Wednesday morning. The country’s toll went up by 1,179 to 97,497. India’s recovery rate is 83.01%, while the death rate stood at 1.57%. The Union health ministry said that India’s active coronavirus cases reduced from 33.32 % on August 1 to 15.11% on September 30.
  2. The Centre allowed the opening of cinema halls with upto 50% of their seating capacity from October 15, in its latest “Unlock 5” guidelines. Besides this, swimming pools used for training of sportspersons will also be permitted to open, for which the standard operating procedure will be issued by the government. Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said all international air travel, except those permitted by the Centre, will continue to remain suspended till October 31.
  3. Kerala reported a record 8,830 new cases, taking the tally to 1,95,285. The state has 1,28,224 recovered cases and 67,061 active cases. The state’s toll stood at 742. 
  4. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said he has recovered from Covid-19. “I am very happy to tell all of you that on the strength of all your blessings and best wishes, I have recovered from Covid-19. Thank you for your affection,” he tweeted.
  5. The Maharashtra government extended the lockdown in the state till October 31, but provided further relaxations. Hotels, restaurants and bars will be allowed to operate dine-in services from October 5 sat 50% of their capacity. All intra-state trains in the state will be allowed to resume. Local train services will resume in Pune, but metro services in the state will remain continue to remain suspended during this phase of the lockdown.
  6. The World Bank said it has asked its directors to approve $12 billion for poor countries so that they can buy and distribute coronavirus vaccines. The funds would be disbursed over 12-18 months.
  7. The second national serological survey showed that one in 15 Indians aged 10 or above has been infected with the novel coronavirus and developed antibodies. This is about 6.6% of the country’s population. The Indian Council for Medical Research on Tuesday warned that the results show that a significant chunk of the population is still vulnerable to the virus.  
  8. An all-party meeting chaired by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday decided that a lockdown was not feasible at the moment, The Hindu reported. The meeting agreed to review the situation after 15 days. Vijayan said the lockdown had hurt workers in the unorganised sector most.
  9. Oxford University said it will study whether anti-inflammatory drug adalimumab was an effective treatment for COVID-19 patients. 
  10. The worldwide coronavirus toll crossed 10 lakh on Tuesday. Globally, the virus has infected more than 3.37 crore people and killed 10,09,064 as of Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 2.34 crore people have recovered.