1. India reported 28,498 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the total to 9,06,752. The toll rose by 553 to 23,727. More than 5.71 lakh people have recovered. The Union health ministry said that recovery rate in 20 states is more than national average of 63%. Of these states, Uttar Pradesh has a recovery rate of 64%, Odisha 67%, Assam 65%, Gujarat 70%, Tamil Nadu has a recovery rate of 65%. The ministry added that 86% of India’s active coronavirus cases are confined to 10 states.
  2. Indian Council for Medical Research Director Dr Balram Bhargava said any vaccine candidate being produced in the world will have to be scaled up by India or by China. “These two countries are major producers of vaccines in the world and India supplies 60% of vaccines to the world that all developed nations are aware of it,” he said. “And therefore, they are in communication with India for the vaccine distribution.” He added that the ICMR is trying to fast-track vaccine development in India amid rising cases.
  3. Maharashtra reported 6,741 new coronavirus cases and 213 deaths. The state’s tally rose to 2,67,665 and the toll reached 10,695. Delhi, meanwhile, recorded 1,606 new cases and 35 deaths. The Capital’s tally is now 1,15,346 and the toll 3,446. Tamil Nadu’s tally rose to 1,47,324 with 4,526 new cases. Sixty-seven new deaths pushed the state’s toll to 2,099.
  4. The Bihar government announced a complete lockdown in the state from July 16 to July 31. Essential services, however, will be exempted. Karnataka’s capital Bengaluru will go under a complete lockdown from Tuesday till July 22. Dakshina Kannada district, meanwhile, will be put under a week-long lockdown from July 15. The district includes Mangalore, Sullia, Puttur, Belthangady, Moodabidri, Bantwal and Kadaba areas. West Bengal extended lockdown in containment zones till July 19.
  5. Jammu and Kashmir administration opened the Union Territory to visitors once again but in a phased manner. All tourists visiting for a holiday will have to undergo mandatory tests for the coronavirus. The decision came even as the Sringar administration ordered a lockdown in 68 containment areas of the city.
  6. Bengaluru-based Biocon Limited’s drug, Itolizumab, that was allowed for emergency use for the coronavirus was cleared after a randomised clinical trial of just 30 patients across four centres, the company said.
  7. World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the failures of some leaders to stop their countries’ spiraling outbreaks mean there would be no return to normal “for the foreseeable future”. Without taking any names, he said “too many countries are headed in the wrong direction” with the pandemic.
  8. Union minister Jitendra Singh and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ram Madhav said that they would quarantine themselves after the party’s Jammu and Kashmir unit chief Ravindra Raina tested positive for the coronavirus. Both the leaders met Raina on July 12.
  9. Google, Facebook and Microsoft were among more than a dozen technology companies in the United States that have backed a legal challenge to President Donald Trump ’s latest rule that bars international students from staying in the country unless they attend at least one in-person course.
  10. The global coronavirus count is now over 1.31 crore, while the toll has crossed 5.74 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 73 lakh people have recovered so far. American industrial conglomerate 3M Co announced a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop a rapid antigen test for the coronavirus. The test is expected to produce results within minutes.