Coronavirus live updates: Nearly 2 million cases in August, India sets a global Covid record

With a record over 10.5 lakh tests conducted in a day for detection of Covid-19, the number of such tests performed in the country has crossed 4.14 crore, the Union health ministry said on Sunday.The exponential jump in the testing capacity and the number of tests has resulted in an upsurge in Tests Per Million to 30,044 as on date, it highlighted.With a record 10,55,027 tests conducted on Saturday, the country has further strengthened the national diagnostic capacity of testing more than 10 lakh samples for Covid-19 daily.The total number of tests conducted in the country for detection of coronavirus currently stands at 4,14,61,636, the ministry said.

The first phase of the Census and the exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR), scheduled for this year but deferred due to the coronavirus outbreak, may be delayed by a year as there is no sign the pandemic is slowing down.The Indian census is one of the largest administrative and statistical exercises in the world, with the involvement of more than 3 million officials who would visit each household across the length and breadth of the country.

Despite groceries, vegetables & other items being provided at subsidised rates, fewer customers turnout for festive shopping.

The surge in coronavirus infections in India can be attributed to increased testing on one hand and opening of the economy on the other accompanied by complacency among people towards following Covid-appropriate behaviour, experts have said, as the country witnessed over five lakh cases in a week.

Amid the challenges due to Covid-19 pandemic, domestic infrastructure giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said virtual innovations enabled it to honour its job offers and hire 1,297 candidates from institutions like IITs and government colleges. The conglomerate had visited 112 colleges in 2019 for the recruitment of graduate and postgraduate engineering trainees for 2020.

Actor Himansh Kohli has said his family, including father, mother and sister, have tested positive for Covid-19 while he has not contracted the virus.Kohli took to Instagram on Saturday and shared that for the last two-three days, his family was experiencing symptoms of viral infection, including mild fever.

"From March, there has been no business. On Ganpati festival, we've earned Rs 3000. Before, we'd earn Rs 2-3 lakhs," says a local band businessman

Travelling to India to write the medical entrance exam NEET is not only stressful but also impractical, several candidates in Gulf countries have said, citing the risk of contracting Covid-19 and the need to undergo a mandatory quarantine, among other issues.Some of them have decided the skip the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) altogether this year.