Breaking News: July 31, 2020 | As it happened

Maharashtra reported 10,320 new COVID-19 cases and 265 deaths today, taking total cases to 4,22,118 including 2,56,158 discharges and 14,994 deaths. Active cases stand at 1,50,662. 

13 deaths and 1,147 new positive cases of COVID-19 reported in Rajasthan today till 8.30pm, taking the total number of cases in the state to 42,083. 

45,39,206 people affected due to floods in Bihar and 26,732 people at shelter homes. 30 teams of National Disaster Response Force/State Disaster Response Force deployed in affected areas. 

Himachal Pradesh's COVID-19 case tally rises to 2,564. There are 1,076 active cases, 1,459 recovered cases and 12 deaths in the State. 

Rajesh Bhushan took charge as Secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday. 

53 deaths and 1,100 fresh COVID-19 cases reported today, taking the total number of cases in Mumbai to 1,14,287. The number of recovered and discharged cases is 87,074. 

2,496 new COVID-19 cases and 45 deaths reported in West Bengal today. The total number of cases now stands at 70,188 in the state including 20,233 active cases, 48,374 discharged cases and 1,581 deaths. 

209 fresh COVID-19 cases reported in Goa today, taking the total number of cases in the state to 5,913 including 1,657 active cases and 4,211 recovered cases; death toll 45. 

Himachal Pradesh's COVID-19 case tally rises to 2,520. There are 1,061 active cases, 1,430 recovered cases and 12 deaths in the State. 

Kerala reported 1,310 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking active cases to 10,495. 

Five new cases of coronavirus reported in Mumbai's Dharavi today. The active cases in the area now stand at 77. The total number of positive cases in Dharavi is 2,556. 

490 new COVID-19 cases reported in Jammu and Kashmir today. 143 from Jammu division and 347 from Kashmir division. The total number of cases stands at 20,359 including 7,765 actives cases, 12,217 recoveries and 377 deaths. 

Himachal Pradesh government extended lockdown in containment zones till August 31 to curb the spread of COVID-19. 

Delhi reported 1,195 new COVID-19 cases, 1,206 recovered/discharged/migrated cases and 27 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total cases here rise to 1,35,598 including 1,20,930 recovered/discharged/migrated cases and 3,963 deaths. There are 10,705 active cases. 

Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal inspects erosion caused by the Kundil river on NH 37 in Sadiya. He says, "If we could not safeguard bridge over river & road alongside then communication between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh will cut off. We're successful in temporarily protecting it."

Nine people die in Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam allegedly after consuming sanitiser instead of liquor. DSP K Prakasa Rao says, "3 beggars, 3 rickshaw pullers and 3 hamalis (porters) consumed sanitiser instead of liquor. One died during treatment, others died in sleep. Probe on."

The Supreme Court on Friday continued hearing in the matter related to the pleas challenging University Grants Commission's (UGC) revised guidelines of conducting final year university exams across the country. The top court did not pass any interim order and decided that the matter will be heard next on August 10. READ MORE

New York: US President Donald Trump is likely to travel to New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly session in September, the only world leader to address this year's virtual high-level week in person, the US envoy to the UN said.

“We're hoping that President Trump will actually be speaking in person in the General Assembly.

He will be the only world leader to be speaking in person,” US Ambassador Kelly Craft said Thursday at a virtual briefing.

Mumbai: Domestic equity benchmark Sensex declined over 100 points in opening session on Friday tracking losses in index-heavyweights HDFC twins and Reliance Industries amid negative cues from global equities.

The BSE Sensex was trading 116.84 points or 0.31 per cent lower at 37,619.23; while the NSE Nifty was down 27. 70 points or 0.25 per cent at 11,074.
45.

HDFC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling around 2 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and Nestle India.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, TCS, SBI, Infosys, Sun Pharma and Tech Mahindra were among the gainers.

India is all set to enter the Unlock 3 phase of the coronavirus pandemic which, as the name suggests, would mean more relaxations in the lockdown norms that the nation has been following since late March. In the upcoming Unlock 3, in the month of August, the Central government has given a green light to gyms and yoga centres to resume however schools, metros and cinema halls have been asked to remain shut. Read Full Story

The coronavirus containment zones in Howrah district of West Bengal have been revised to 91 as the country is all set to enter into the unlock 3.0 phase. The Government of India has already issued guidelines for the month of August, during which the third phase of unlock will be carried out. Several relaxations have been given but large gathering places like schools, metros and cinema halls have been told to remain shut at least till August 31. Read Full List

Senior advisor to US President Donald Trump and top US infectious disease specialist, Anthony Fauci has claimed that India has a critical role to play in providing the world with an effective coronavirus vaccine. At a web conference organised by ICMR, Fauci stated that despite COVID-19 threat being grave, it was not essential now to conduct human challenge trials to expedite vaccine development. Read Full Story

The weather in the national capital got pleasant after a spell of showers in the wee hours of Friday. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted more showers in the coming hours. "Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adj. areas of few places of Delhi, Noida, Gr. Noida, Faridabad, Gannaur, Bagpat, Kasganj, Narora, Chandausi, Sambhal, Sahswan, Badaun, Chandpur, Amroha, Moradabad during next 2 hr," IMD tweeted. 

In light of the coronavirus outbreak and the upcoming festivals like Eid, Rakshabandhan, Janmashtmi etc, the District Magistrate in Ghaziabad has decided to impose Section 144 till August 31. This has been done to make sure that the festivals are concluded without and the sudden rise of COVID-19 cases. Read Full Story

Hello and welcome to today's live coverage of coronavirus news in India and across the world, with me, Sushmita Panda and my colleagues  Himanshu Shekhar, Shashwat  Bhandari, Vani Mehrotra, Priya Jaiswal,  Sidhant Mamtany and Rashi Hardaha. You can get in touch with us directly on twitter ​​ ​​@sushmitapanda, @himaanshus, @ShashBhandari​ @vani_mehrotra​ @priyajais, @SidMamtany, and  @rashihardaha for news, tips, photos, questions and comments. Stay tuned to Indiatvnews.com (@indiatvnews) for all the latest updates on what's happening around the world. 

Here's a quick overview: 

The total number of global cases has surpassed 17.1 million, including more than 669,000 fatalities. More than 10,693,000 patients are reported to have recovered.

Total positive cases country-wise:

• USA - 4,634,968
• Brazil - 2,613,789
• India - 1,639,350
• Russia - 834,499
• South Africa - 482,169
• Mexico - 408,449