2,617 More People Tested for Covid-19 in Odisha | At least 2,617 more people tested positive for coronavirus in Odisha on Monday, which raised the tally to 2,35,330, while 17 fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 924, a health department official said. Of the new cases, 1,521 were reported from various quarantine centres and the rest were detected during contact tracing, he said. Khurda district, of which state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, reported the maximum number of new cases at 506,followed by Bargarh at 148.

A fresh batch of ink is being used in the Covid-19 quarantine stamp for international passengers at the Delhi international airport after a Congress leader complained about pain and itchiness due to the chemical used in it, said senior government officials on Monday. “After the complaint, the Delhi state authorities have started using a fresh batch of ink to stamp incoming international passengers,” said one of the officials.

903 Deaths in Past 24 Hours | 903 deaths have been registered in the past 24 hours. 82% of new fatalities are reported from 10 states and UTs. 36% of deaths reported yesterday are from Maharashtra with 326 deaths followed by Karnataka with 67 deaths, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

SC Hears Petition on Loan Interests During Covid | Supreme Court’s 3-judge bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, begins hearing petitions related to charging interest on loans during the 6-month moratorium period brought in due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are 9,34,427 active cases of the coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 14.11 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. Covid-19 case fatality was recorded at 1.55 per cent. India’s Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and 40 lakh on September 5. It went past-50 lakh on September 16 and crossed 60 lakh on September 28.

CM Yogi Inaugurates Covid Hospital | Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurates 200-bed Covid hospital at Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital and cobas lab at Moti Lal Nehru Medical College of Prayagraj, via video conferencing in Lucknow.

Restaurants Open in Mumbai with 50% Capacity | Hotels, food courts, restaurants and bars in Maharashtra resume their services today, months after they were closed for coronavirus. The services are resuming with 50% capacity from today.

UPDATE | India’s Covid-19 tally crosses 66-lakh mark with a spike of 74,442 new cases and 903 deaths reported in last 24 hours. Total case tally stands at 66,23,816 including 9,34,427 active cases, 55,86,704 cured/discharged/migrated cases and 1,02,685 deaths, Union Health Ministry latest report said.

Maharashtra to Reopen Restaurants Today | For eight days in a row, Maharashtra’s Covid-19 daily cases have been under 20,000 with the state recording 13,702 new infections on Sunday, pushing the tally to 1,443,409. But in spite of the decline in the cases, health officials in the state continue to be cautious about the possibility of a surge in infections in the coming weeks. The state government had issued Covid-19 safety guidelines for restaurants and other eateries which were allowed to reopen from October 5.

Mexico Reports 3,712 New Cases | Mexico’s confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 761,665 on Sunday with a total reported death toll of 79,088, according to the health ministry. Authorities reported 3,712 new cases and 208 deaths, but the true figures are likely significantly higher due to limited testing.

Mainland China Reported 20 New Cases | Mainland China reported 20 new cases on October 4, up from 16 reported a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said on Monday. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Mainland China now stands at 85,470, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.

Two days after being hospitalized with Covid-19, President Donald Trump declared, “I get it,” in a message to the nation Sunday before briefly leaving the hospital to salute supporters from a motorcade, a move that suggested the president would continue to disregard basic precautions to contain the virus that has killed more than 209,000 Americans.

I really appreciate all of the fans and supporters outside of the hospital. The fact is, they really love our Country and are seeing how we are MAKING IT GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2020

Trump Could be Discharged Today | US President Donald Trump’s blood oxygen level dropped twice in recent days and he was given supplemental oxygen, the White House physician said on Sunday, asserting that his “condition has improved” since then and he could be discharged from the hospital as early as Monday. Trump was flown to Walter Reed Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, a Maryland suburb of Washington DC, on Friday.

Jharkhand Reports 933 New Cases, 9 Deaths | “Jharkhand reported 933 new Covid-19 cases, 907 recoveries and 9 deaths today, taking total cases to 87,210  including 75,531 recoveries, 743 deaths and 10,936 active cases,” State Health Department said.

Venezuelan President’s Son Joins Sputnik V Trials | Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Sunday his son will join trials of Sputnik V, the coronavirus vaccine which was met with caution when Russia announced it was the world’s first to be approved. An initial batch of the vaccine arrived in Venezuela on Friday, the government announced, and 2,000 residents will participate in the trials.

British Govt Orders Tens of Millions Doses | The British government has already ordered tens of millions of vaccine doses from various pharmaceutical research programmes, including the one led by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. Nine candidates for a vaccine are currently in the final stages of clinical trials, but there is so far no indication of when a vaccine will be ready for mass rollout.

UK Crosses 5 Lakh Covid-19 Cases | The United Kingdom passed 500,000 confirmed coronavirus infections on Sunday, official figures showed, in the latest grim milestone for the European country worst-hit by the pandemic. Health authorities blamed a technical glitch for a sudden spike in cases announced in evening figures that had kept several thousand cases from the last week of September off the official tally. 

India’s per Million Testing Rate at 828 | “India has exceeded 140 tests per day per million population as advised by the World Health Organisation by nearly 6 times. Several states and UTs have demonstrated better performance than the national average,” Says Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Maharashtra Recovery Rate Improving: Minister | Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Sunday said the Covid-19 recovery rate in the state has improved and the fatality rate dropped due to changing protocol in treatment. He said the state reported nearly 14,000 fresh cases on Saturday, while over 19,000 patients recovered from the disease.

Pune Reports 993 New Cases | Maharashtra’s Pune city reported 993 new coronavirus cases, which pushed its overall infection count to 1,49,399, a health official said on Sunday. The death toll due to the virus reached 3,647 as 38 patients succumbed to the infection.

Dr Harsh Vardhan also said all three vaccines in India undergoing trials have proven to be safe, immunogenic and efficacious in clinical trials outside India and need to undergo bridging studies to prove their safety and immunogenicity in the Indian population as well although these studies can be conducted with much smaller sample size and end quickly.

First Covid-19 Shot by July 2021: Health Minister | Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said the government plans to receive and utilise 400-500 million Covid-19 vaccine doses and that of the 1.3 billion population, 20-25 crore people would be getting the first shot by July 2021.