Highlights: Jharkhand’s health minister Banna Gupta says he is Covid-19 positive

9 deaths and 2,239 fresh Covid-19 cases reported in Odisha in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 64,533 including 20,339 active cases, 43,779 recovered cases and 362 deaths: State Health Department

Forty more people, including 13 security personnel, have tested positive for Covid-19 in Arunachal Pradesh, raising the state's total caseload to 2,741, a senior Health department official said on Tuesday.

Home Minister Amit Shah has been admitted to AIIMS(All India Institute of Medical Sciences) for post Covid care. He is comfortable & is continuing his work from hospital: AIIMS, Delhi

He was discharged from Medanta Hospital,Gurugram on 14 Aug, after testing negative for Covid-19.

370 new Covid-19 cases, 282 recoveries and 9 deaths reported in Puducherry. The total number of cases stands at 8,396 in the state till date, including 4,909 recovered cases, 3,364 active cases & 123 deaths so far: Puducherry Health Department

The World Health Organization says countries in the Western Pacific — a vast region comprising nearly 1.9 billion people — have entered a new phase of coronavirus pandemic response and urged regional governments to continue to promote behavior that protects community health.

Punjab govt has decided to impose additional restrictions in Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala from 18 August, till further orders. Movement of individuals for non-essential activities to remain prohibited between 9 pm to 5 am: Information and Public Relations Dept, Punjab. Restaurants, hotels & other hospitality units to remain open till 8.30 pm. Shops and shopping malls would remain open till 8 pm. Restaurants/hotels situated within shopping malls and liquor vends would remain open till 8.30 pm: Information and Public Relations Dept, Punjab.

Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said on Tuesday it would lend $100 million to Uzbekistan to help the country deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and future public health disasters.

More than 21.9 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 772,647​ have died, according to a Reuters tally.Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

Spike of 55,079 cases and 876 deaths reported in India, in the last 24 hours.

The Covid-19 tally in the country rises to 27,02,743 including 6,73,166 active cases, 19,77,780 discharged/migrated & 51,797 deaths: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

3,09,41,264 samples tested up to 17th August for Covid-19. Of these, 8,99,864 samples were tested yesterday: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

Australia was on track on Tuesday to record its lowest one-day rise in new Covid-19 infections in a month, buoying hopes that a stringent lockdown in the country's second-most populous state has prevented a fresh wave of cases nationally.

New Zealand on Tuesday reported 13 new confirmed cases of coronavirus for the last 24 hours compared with nine a day earlier as the Pacific nation battles to contain an outbreak in the biggest city of Auckland.

New Zealand on Tuesday ruled out the possibility that a coronavirus outbreak in its biggest city of Auckland came from frozen food items or freight, as it reported 13 new cases.

The total number of cases rises to 815 in Mizoram, including 372 discharged cases and 443 active cases: State Health Department, Mizoram

Hard-hit US states including Arizona, California and Florida showed signs that their outbreaks are easing after a summer surge. The challenges to bringing college students back to campus were underscored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which switched to online learning after a rapid jump in cases.