 "Coronavirus Updates: Maharashtra reports 7,760 new cases, 300 deaths; tally rises to 4,57,956")
 "Supreme Court clears Vantara elephant project, rejects PIL: Top 5 things to know")
 "Focus back to India-US trade deal: Trump’s negotiators landing in New Delhi tonight")
Coronavirus LATEST Updates: Maharashtra’s COVID-19 case count reached 4,57,956 with the addition of 7,760 cases while 300 deaths pushed the toll to 16,142, said the state health department. Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said he has tested positive for the coronavirus infection. “I got tested done after noticing COVID-19 symptoms and the report came positive. I have been admitted to a hospital on doctor’s advice but am healthy,” he said in a tweet. Noting that lockdown was a temporary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said India has a low testing rate when compared to some of the countries that are successfully trying to curb it. A team of health workers on Tuesday collected swab samples of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his family members for COVID-19 tests, the second time in a month, after several employees at his office were found to have contracted the disease. Of the total number of 9,934 police personnel infected with coronavirus, 7,950 have recovered and 1,877 cases are active, informed the Maharashtra Police. As many as 12,30,509 COVID-19 patients have been cured and discharged so far and the reported active COVID-19 cases in India stand at 5,86,298 Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah on Tuesday has said that he has tested positive for COVID19 and has been admitted to hospital. The Union health ministry issued guidelines for reopening of yoga institutes and gymnasiums as part of the government’s Unlock 3.0 plan on Monday while the financial capital Mumbai further relaxed restrictions on commercial establishments even as COVID-19 tally crossed 18 lakh, just a day after it went past 17 lakh. India reported 52,972 new cases reported in a day on monday. This marked the fifth consecutive day when India’s daily cases soared past 50,000. And while the total coronavirus cases surged to 18,03,695, the toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 38,135 with 771 people succumbing to the disease in a day, according to the Union Health Ministry data. Amid the rising new cases and fatalities, the number of recoveries surged to over 11.86 lakh, the data updated at 8 am on Monday showed. The states that have reported the biggest 24-hour jump in active cases are Andhra Pradesh (2,216), Uttar Pradesh (1,986), Karnataka (1,371), Bihar (1,369), and Telangana (793). The five worst-hit states (as per total number of cases) were Maharashtra (4,41,228), Tamil Nadu (2,63,222), Andhra Pradesh (1,58,764), Delhi (138,482), and Karnataka (1,34,819). Of the 771 fresh deaths reported, 260 are from Maharashtra, 98 from Tamil Nadu, 84 from Karnataka, 67 from Andhra Pradesh, 53 from Uttar Pradesh, 49 from West Bengal, 22 from Gujarat, 20 from Bihar, 18 from Punjab, 15 from Delhi, 13 from Rajasthan, 10 each from Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, and eight from Jammu and Kashmir. Five fatalities each have been reported from Haryana, Goa and Jharkhand, four each from Assam and Tripura, three each from Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh, one each from Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Manipur and Kerala. According to the latest guidelines applicable on health and yoga centres, only establishments outside containment zones will be allowed to open from 5 August. Spas, sauna, steam bath and swimming pools, however, shall remain closed. Persons above 65 years of age, persons with comorbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years are advised not to use gyms in closed spaces, the guidelines said. COVID-19 tests in India cross 2-crore mark; recovery rate crosses 65% Even as India overtook US to became the country with highest count of new cases being reported in a single day, it also improved upon its testing capability. Monday marked the day when the total number of tests for detection of COVID-19 has crossed two crore, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data. A cumulative total of 2,02,02,858 samples have been tested up to 2 August with 3,81,027 samples being tested on Sunday, the ICMR said. There are now 1,348 testing labs in the country comprising 914 in the public sector and 434 private labs. Having started with one single laboratory at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and then expanding to 100 laboratories around the beginning of the lockdown, the ICMR on 23 June validated the 1000th testing lab. The recorvery rate of patients also climbed up. There were 40,574 patients, who were cured between Sunday and Monday (8 am), taking India’s recovery tally to 1,186,203 and the recovery rate to 65.77 percent. The case fatality ratio (CFR) dropped to 2.11 percent and the doubling rate of cases or the number of days it takes for infections to double across the country was reported at 21.2 days as of Sunday night. “With a further fall, the current CFR touched 2.11 percent today,” the health ministry said. On 31 July, the recovery rate stood at 64.54 percent while the CFR was 2.18 percent. DCGI gives nod to phase 2 and 3 human trial of COVID-19 vaccine In another significant development, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given nod to the Serum Institute of India for conducting phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of the Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the country. Government officials told PTI that the DCGI granted the approval late Sunday night after a thorough evaluation based on the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19. “The firm has to submit safety data, evaluated by the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), to the CDSCO before proceeding to phase 3 clinical trials,” a senior official said, referring to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). “As per the study design, each subject will be administered two doses four weeks apart (first dose on day one and second dose on Day 29) following which the safety and immunogenicity will be assessed at predefined intervals,” the official said. Karti Chidambaram, s staffers at Karantaka CMO test positive A day after Home Minister Amit Shah and Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa tested positive for coronavirus, Congress MP and son of veteran leader P Chidambaram, Karti also contracted the infection. The 48-year-old parliamentarian confirmed his health status on Twitter saying that his symptoms were mild and he has quarantined himself at home.
I have just tested positive for #Covid. My symptoms are mild and as per medical advice I am under home quarantine. I would urge all those who have recently been in contact with me to follow medical protocol.
— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) August 3, 2020
Meanwhile, in Karnataka, one of yediyurappa’s daughters and six members of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) have also tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has also gone in home isolation after Shah tested positive. Prasad had met Shah on Saturday. All shops in Mumbai to remain open from 5 August In a major relaxation in the lockdown norms, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday said all shops in the city are allowed to remain open all days from 5 August irrespective of the odd-even rule. In a circular issued under the Mission Begin Again, the civic body also allowed the counter sale of liquor in Mumbai with proper social distancing norms. Malls and market places will be allowed to work from 9 am to 7 pm from Wednesday. However, theatres, food courts/restaurants will continue to remain shut. The BMC, however, said that kitchen of restaurants and food courts will be allowed to operate in malls wherein only home delivery through aggregators will be allowed," the BMC said. With inputs from PTI
 "Charlie Kirk, shot dead in Utah, once said gun deaths are 'worth it' to save Second Amendment")
 "From governance to tourism, how Gen-Z protests have damaged Nepal")
 "Did Russia deliberately send drones into Poland’s airspace?")
 "Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages: Qatar PM after Doha strike")
 "Charlie Kirk, shot dead in Utah, once said gun deaths are 'worth it' to save Second Amendment")
 "From governance to tourism, how Gen-Z protests have damaged Nepal")
 "Did Russia deliberately send drones into Poland’s airspace?")
 "Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages: Qatar PM after Doha strike")
