1. India’s coronavirus tally rose to 7,42,417, with 22,752 new cases in 24 hours on Wednesday morning. The toll went up by 482 to 20,642. More than 4.56 lakh people have recovered.
  2. Maharashtra reported the biggest single-day increase with 6,603 new coronavirus cases in the evening. The state now has 1,22,350 total infections and toll rose to 9,448 after 198 new casualties. Tamil Nadu reported 3,756 new coronavirus cases, taking the state tally to 1,22,350. The toll stood at 1,700. Meanwhile, Delhi saw an increase of 2,033 new coronavirus cases and 48 deaths in the last 24 hours. The Capital’s case count jumped 1,04,864 and toll to 3,213.
  3. The Bihar government announced a strict lockdown in Patna from July 10 to July 16 due to an alarming surge in coronavirus cases. Government offices, public corporations, all private and commercial establishments will remain closed. However, essential services like ration, dairy, vegetables and meat shops will be opened from 6 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 7 pm.
  4. Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology asked a federal court to block the Donald Trump administration’s order to not allow holders of student visas to remain in the United States if their universities switched to online-only classes for the fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  5. The World Health Organization on Tuesday acknowledged for the first time that there was “evidence emerging” that the transmission of the coronavirus is airborne. The WHO’s admission came after 239 scientists wrote it an open letter claiming that the virus can be transmitted through the air.
  6. The Delhi University told the High Court on Wednesday that it has decided to postpone the open book examinations for final year undergraduate courses to August, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The exams were to commence on July 10.
  7. Two Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLAs, one of who is a minister in Hemant Soren’s Cabinet, have tested positive. Both are said to have met the chief minister recently. Following this, Soren has gone into self-isolation. Meanwhile, Maharashtra BJP MLA Mukta Tilak also tested positive in Pune.
  8. The Drug Controller General of India flagged concerns about the black-marketing of remdesivir, a medicine used for Covid-19 patients. “This office has received a letter from M/s Local circles, through MOHFW [Ministry of Health and Family Welfare], raising concerns regarding black marketing and overpricing of the drug Remdesivir by certain unscrupulous persons,” DGCI chief VS Somani wrote in a letter to the health ministry.
  9. A man in New Zealand, who returned from India earlier this month, will face charges for leaving a coronavirus isolation facility and going to a supermarket. The man will either get a six-month jail term or a $4,000 [approximately Rs 1.96 lakh] fine.
  10. The global coronavirus count is now over 1.18 crore, while the toll has crossed 5.44 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 64 lakh people have recovered so far.