| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Junior priest at Ayodhya temple, dozen policemen test positive for Covid-19 An assistant to the head priest of the makeshift Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya has tested positive for Covid-19. Around a dozen police personnel posted at the Ram Janmabhoomi complex have also tested positive, though the exact number of the infected personnel has not been confirmed. Acharya Satyendra Das, the court-appointed head priest of the makeshift temple, confirmed that his assistant Pradeep Das had tested positive. Satyendra Das and other priests at the temple, however, tested negative. Last week, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had visited Ayodhya to review preparations for the bhoomi-pujan (ground-breaking ceremony) of the Ram temple scheduled for next week. While performing a ritual, Satyendra Das and Pradeep Das were seen standing in close proximity to the Chief Minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the bhoomi pujan on August 5 for the Ram temple being constructed at the site of the Babri Masjid, which was demolished by kar sevaks on December 6, 1992. The temple is being built by a Trust appointed by the government following the Supreme Court verdict earlier this year. Herd immunity not a strategic option, says Health Ministry To a question on herd immunity from the coronavirus, the Health Ministry today said it cannot be a strategic option. "Herd immunity is a kind of indirect protection from an infectious disease like Covid-19. It happens only when a population becomes immune either through vaccination or develops immunity due to previous infection… India's population is currently about 138 crore. Herd immunity in a country like India cannot be a strategic choice, it can only be an outcome, that too at a very high cost," it said.  People fail to maintain social distancing as they throng to buy flowers at the wholesale market in Badrian Street in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on July 30, 2020. This statement comes amid a scenario where, even as some areas are approaching the infection levels required for herd immunity, the rate of spread of the disease continues to be uneven. We had reported yesterday, for instance, that a sero survey conducted by the BMC had found that 57% of the people living in slums had been exposed to the virus (around 60% or above is thought to be needed for herd immunity) but only 16% of those in residential areas had been exposed. The Health Ministry also said that fatality rate has decreased from 3.33% on June 18 to 2.21% on July 30, and that over one million patients have now recovered. Not a free man, says Congress leader Soz Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Saifuddin Soz on Thursday scaled a tall pillar at the gate of his residence in Srinagar's Friends Colony even as policemen kept warning him not to do so. Soz sought to make the point that he has been "under house arrest without any formal orders" since August 5 last year. The scene outside the residence of Soz has been compared to that of a jail. The policemen on guard do not open the gates. The media is shooed away and warned of dire consequences if they do not leave the place. Soz, eager to talk to the media, scaled the pillar of his residence's gate but his interaction was cut short by the policeman.  A security person tries to prevent Congress leader Saifuddin Soz from speaking to the media at his residence in Srinagar on July 30, 2020. "The government lied to the Supreme Court. If I am a free man, then allow me to leave the premises. I am not a free man. These policemen are saying they have orders from the top," screamed Soz from behind the gate. The context to this is that the Supreme Court on Wednesday closed a habeas corpus petition filed by Soz's wife after the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration assured the court that he is neither in detention nor under house arrest. Congress leaders slammed the J&K administration for "lying" to the Supreme Court about Soz being free and not under detention. Senior Advocate and Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Singhvi, who represented Soz in the top court, said if reports of restrictions are "factually" established, then the J&K administration is liable for "perjury and contempt of court". Jaya Jaitly sentenced to 4 years in jail, gets stay from High Court Former Samata Party chief Jaya Jaitly and two others were sentenced on Thursday to four years of imprisonment by a special court in connection with a corruption case related to a purported defence deal. Jaitly, her former party colleague Gopal Pacherwal and Maj. Gen. S.P. Murgai (retd.) were earlier held guilty of criminal conspiracy and corruption. The case was registered by the CBI following a sting operation by news portal Tehelka. In the sting operation, Jaitly was shown to have accepted ₹2 lakh from Mathew Samuel, who represented a non-existing firm named Westend International. The retired Major General received ₹20,000. Soon after the sentencing, the Delhi High Court on July 30 stayed the 4-year jail term and sought the CBI's response on Jaitly's appeal challenging her conviction and sentence. Jaitly had earlier challenged the July 21 order of the trial court that had convicted her in the case. She is being represented by senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and PP Malhotra. U.S. economy shrinks 33% The U.S. economy shrank by an annual rate of 33% in the April-June quarter —the worst ever quarterly plunge it has recorded. The pandemic, which has shut down businesses, has thrown tens of millions out of work and sent unemployment surging to 14.7 %, the government said Thursday. The Commerce Department's estimate of the second-quarter decline in the GDP marked the sharpest such drop on records dating to 1947. The previous worst quarterly contraction, a 10 % drop, occurred in 1958 during the Eisenhower administration. Trump raises possibility of delaying 2020 Presidential polls U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday raised the possibility of delaying the nation's November Presidential elections, despite the date being enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.  U.S. President Donald Trump. File Trump, without any credible evidence, repeated his claims that mail-in voting, which many more people are set to do this time owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, could lead to election fraud. At the time of publishing this, however, Trump only seemed to be musing out loud on Twitter, writing: "delay the election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???" Rajasthan saga: Court issues notice to Speaker, six MLAs The Rajasthan Speaker and the six former BSP MLAs who merged with the Congress have been issued notice by the High Court on petitions filed by the BSP and the BJP. The High Court has asked for a reply by August 11. A decision on the six MLAs may be key to the survival of the Ashok Gehlot government. BJP leader Madan Dilawar has petitioned the Rajasthan High Court against the merger. He dropped an earlier case on the court's advice and filed a fresh petition. The BSP has asked to be made a part of the same. The petitions argue that the MLAs cannot legally merge into the Congress in just one state since the BSP is a national party. Meanwhile, the Congress MLAs of the Ashok Gehlot camp are going to stay put in a hotel on the outskirts of Jaipur till the Assembly session is convened on August 14. CM Gehlot said the MLAs will go directly from the hotel to the Assembly. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 16,35,438 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 35,792. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has announced that the Covid-19 lockdown across the State is being extended till August 31 with fresh relaxations, both for areas under Chennai City Police and in other parts of the State. In a statement, Palaniswami said that a complete lockdown would be imposed across the State with strict restrictions on all Sundays next month: August 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. In Brief: Opposition parties today questioned the government for not tabling the New Education Policy first in the Parliament. The parties, however, have welcomed certain aspects of the policy, including the extension of the right to education from three to 18 years of age. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth on Thursday jointly inaugurated the new Supreme Court building of Mauritius at Port Louis. Observing that for Indiathe most fundamental principle in development cooperation is respecting its partners, Modi said, "This sharing of development lessons is our only motivation. That is why our development cooperation does not come with any conditions." Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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