A sanitation drive in Mumbai on July 20, 2020. (Express Photo: Nirmal Harindran)

Coronavirus India Updates: Over 11.5 lakh people have contracted the novel coronavirus in India. In the last 24 hours, the country reported 37,148 additional cases of the disease and 587 deaths. Overall, there are more than 4 lakh people undergoing treatment for Covid-19, 7.2 lakh who have recovered and 28,000 fatalities, according to data put out by the Union Ministry of Health on Tuesday. India’s daily case load has been rising steadily; Tuesday marks the sixth consecutive day of over 30,000 cases.

In a tally released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 1,43,81,303 samples have been tested till July 20. On Monday, 3,33,395 samples were tested. (Follow Coronavirus India Live Updates)

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has confirmed that over 70 per cent of the deaths in India have occurred due to co-morbidities.

The key states fuelling India’s numbers include Maharashtra, New Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. (Don’t miss from Explained: India’s coronavirus numbers, and what they mean)

Traffic personnel during the lockdown at Shivajinagar in Pune on July 20, 2020. (Express Photo: Ashish Kale)

Delhi may be past the peak, says AIIMS Director

AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria says data from New Delhi suggests the Covid curve is flattening and the city “may have crossed the peak”. Guleria, who is part of the core team monitoring the pandemic in India, however, warned that we cannot let our guard down.

“If you look at the data from Delhi, it does suggest that we seem to have flattened the curve and, maybe, are showing a downward trend. So, it is possible that we have crossed the peak as far as Delhi is concerned. But, considering the trend in other cities and even in the US, having crossed the peak doesn’t mean that you can let your guard down. We still need to be very careful. If you start decreasing social distancing and mask-wearing, there can be a resurgence of cases and you may have another spike,” Guleria told The Indian Express.

In other news from the national capital, results of the serological survey has shown that 23.48 per cent of the people surveyed developed IgG (Immunoglobulin G) antibodies, indicating they had been exposed to the coronavirus. The study also indicated that a large number of infected persons remain asymptomatic.

N-95 masks with valved respirators do not prevent Covid: Govt

The central government has written to states and Union Territories saying N-95 masks with valved respirators may not prevent the coronavirus from spreading. The Director General of Health Services (DGHS) in the Health Ministry said there was “inappropriate use” of such masks by the public.

“It is to bring to your knowledge that the use of valved respirator N-95 masks is detrimental to the measures adopted for preventing the spread of coronavirus as it does not prevent the virus from escaping out of the mask. In view of the above, I request you to instruct all concerned to follow the use of face/mouth cover and prevent inappropriate use of N-95 masks,” DGHS Rajiv Garg said in the letter, reported PTI.

At a health camp in Trombay, Mumbai on July 20, 2020. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)

How is Chennai faring in its fight against Covid?

Chennai corporation officials have told IndianExpress.com the spread of Covid-19 has been controlled with aggressive and focused testing. Officials have been able to identify positive cases at an early stage with the help of door to door surveillance and fever camps. Citing an example, a senior corporation official said, “There used to be a time when Royapuram and Tondiarpet used to have 200 cases per day; now we are getting maximum 50-80 cases a day.”

Chennai, as of July 20, has 87,235 positive cases of Covid-19, which makes up 50 per cent of the total cases in Tamil Nadu.

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Telangana’s Covid-19 recovery rate improves

Telangana’s recovery rate has improved to 72 per cent, while the death rate is less than one per cent, government data shows. As of July 19, 32,438 patients of the 45,076 cases in the state had recovered, while 409 had succumbed to the disease.

In other news from the state, the first dose of vaccine Covaxin, developed by city-based Bharat Biotech and currently in the trials phase, was administered to two volunteers at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS). “They are both stable and all their vitals are fine. We will keep them under observation for 48 hours after which they will be discharged,” said Dr G Srinivas, who is a member of the team.