1. India reported 96,423 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its overall count to 52,14,677. The country’s toll rose by 1,174 to 84,372. A record 87,472 patients recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours, pushing the total number of discharges to 41,12,551.
  2. Kerala recorded 4,167 new cases, taking its tally to 1,26,381. The state’s toll rose by 12 to 501. This is the second straight day of Kerala recording over 4,000 cases. Delhi’s tally, meanwhile, rose to 2,38,828 after it reported 4,127 new cases. Thirty more deaths pushed the Capital’s toll to 4,907. Maharashtra recorded 21,656 cases, which took its total to 11,67,496. The state’s toll rose to 31,791.
  3. The Centre sent a high level team to Jammu to monitor containment measures, surveillance, testing and clinical management of the coronavirus, amid a rise in cases. Jammu has reported 9,428 cases and 117 deaths so far.
  4. The Lok Sabha session saw a debate about the PM CARES Fund, which was set up in March in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic by the prime minister’s office. The Opposition questioned the need to create the fund, and asked why it was not being audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said the Opposition was criticising the fund “just for the sake of it” and that their “intentions are wrong”.
  5. The Delhi government announced that all schools in the city would continue to remain closed till October 5.
  6. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel tested positive for the coronavirus. One of his attendants had tested positive on Thursday.
  7. Two drug companies, Moderna and Pfizer, who are among the nine firms leading the race to develop coronavirus vaccines, released the blueprints of their study on Thursday after repeated calls for transparency.
  8. The Kerala government issued new instructions for quarantine norms for guest workers and specialised workers visiting the state. The government said that if they test positive, they shall be separated from the general population and not be allowed to work till they recover.
  9. European countries, including France and Spain, prepared for new restrictions after the World Health Organization warned of “alarming rates of transmission”.
  10. The global coronavirus count crossed 3 crore while the toll rose to 9,46,673. according to the Johns Hopkins University. The number of worldwide recoveries went over 2.05 crore.