1. India reported a record 97,894 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, taking its tally to 51,18,254. The country’s toll rose by 1,132 to 83,198. India reported over 82,000 recoveries for the second consecutive day, taking the total to 40,25,080. The country’s active cases crossed 10 lakh
  2. Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan told the Rajya Sabha that he expected a vaccine against the coronavirus to be available in the country by the beginning of next year.
  3. The Indian Medical Association accused the government of “indifference” and “abdication” after it said there was no complete data on the number of frontline healthcare workers who have contracted the coronavirus and died. The health body released its own list and said that, so far, 382 doctors have died of the infection.
  4. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the government has increased Covid-19 testing in the Capital by four times due to which, the number of cases are likely to rise for 10 to 15 days. Delhi has reported 2,30,269 cases and 4,839 deaths so far. A serological survey conducted between August and September, meanwhile, found that nearly 33% of residents in Delhi have developed Covid-19 antibodies.
  5. Maharashtra authorities on Thursday extended Covid-19 curbs in Mumbai till September 30. The city alone reported 2,389 new cases and 43 deaths in the last 24 hours.
  6. British charity Oxfam said that a small group of wealthy nations, representing 13% of the world population, has secured more than half of the most promising future coronavirus vaccines. The organisation added that this could mean that nearly two-thirds of the world’s population would not have a vaccine until at least 2022.
  7. Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech has planned to start a clinical trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine with children and adolescents later this month.
  8. Union Home Minister Amit Shah was on Thursday discharged from Delhi’s All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, where he was re-admitted for post-coronavirus check-up.
  9. United States President Donald Trump rejected the scientific projections of his own government about the coronavirus, and said a vaccine could be available much sooner than predicted and would go “immediately” to the general public. His statement directly contradicted Robert Redfield, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who told a Senate committee that a vaccine would not be broadly available until mid to late 2021.
  10. The global coronavirus count crossed 2.99 crore, while the toll reached 9,42,076, according to the Johns Hopkins University. The number of worldwide recoveries crossed 2.03 crore.