1. India’s coronavirus count on Wednesday touched 37,69,523 with 78,357 new cases. The toll rose by 1,045 to 66,333. As many as 29,01,908 patients have recovered from the infection in the country, pushing the recovery rate to 76.98%. The fatality rate has declined to 1.76%. There are 8,01,282, active cases in the country, comprising 21.26% of the total caseload.
  2. Maharashtra registered its biggest-single day rise of 17,433 new cases, taking the state’s tally to 8,25,739. The toll rose to 25,195 with 292 more fatalities recorded in 24 hours. Andhra Pradesh’s tally of coronavirus cases crossed 4.5 lakh, after 10,392 new cases were recorded in 24 hours. The state now has 4,55,531 infections and the toll is 4,125. Tamil Nadu reported 5,990 new cases and 98 deaths, taking the state’s overall count of infections to 4,39,959. The toll stood at 7,516.
  3. The Centre released Standard Operating Procedures to be followed while conducting examinations amid the coronavirus crisis. Only those examination centers which are outside the containment zones will be allowed to function, it said. The government also released the Standard Operating Procedures for the resumption of metro rail services during the coronavirus outbreak. All states with metro connectivity, except Maharashtra, are set to begin operations from September 7.
  4. The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, or PM CARES, received Rs 3,076 crore in donations in five days between March 27 and March 31, according to an audit statement the government has made public. The statement, made for the financial year 2019-’20, deals with donations only from the time the fund was set up (March 27) to the closing of the accounting year (March 31).
  5. A fifth of the total number of residents in Greater Chennai Corporation’s areas have been exposed to the coronavirus, a serological survey revealed. Blood samples were collected from 12,405 individuals from 51 wards in all the 15 zones of the Greater Chennai Corporation.
  6. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajendra Rathore tested positive for the coronavirus.
  7. The Centre’s Goods and Services Tax collection for the month of August came in at Rs 86,449 crore. The figures represent a substantial fall in the government’s revenue from the same period last year because of sluggish economic activity due to the coronavirus pandemic. The GST collection in August this year was 88% of that in August 2019.
  8. Opposition leaders criticised the Narendra Modi government’s decision to cancel the Question Hour during the Parliament session that will start on September 14 amid the coronavirus crisis. The Question Hour, the first hour in the House, allows members to question the government. This will be the first since the coronavirus-induced lockdown was imposed in March.
  9. The Donald Trump administration in United States has said that it will not work with an international cooperative effort to develop and distribute a vaccine for the coronavirus. The decision is believed to be guided by President Trump’s reservation about the World Health Organization. More than 150 countries are setting up the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, or COVAX.
  10. Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 2.56 crore people and killed over 8.55 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s tracker. Over 1.69 crore people across the world have recovered from the infection.