India Coronavirus cases reach 17,265, death toll stands at 543 as of 20th April

A total of 17,265 confirmed cases are reported for COVID-19 in the country and a total of 543 deaths have been reported so far. Among those infected, 2,547 persons or 14.75 % of total cases have been cured or discharged after recovery, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in its daily bulletin.

The doubling rate of COVID-19 cases calculated using growth over the past seven days indicates that India’s doubling rate for the week before lockdown was 3.4 and has improved to 7.5 as on 19th April, 2020 (for the last seven days). The 18 States that have shown improvement in doubling rate as compared to the national average, as on 19th April are:

Doubling rate: Less than 20 days 
Delhi (UT)- 8.5 days
Karnataka- 9.2 days
Telangana- 9.4 days
Andhra Pradesh- 10.6 days
J&K (UT)- 11.5 days
Punjab- 13.1 days
Chhattisgarh – 13.3 days
Tamil Nadu- 14 days
Bihar- 16.4 days
Doubling rate: Between 20 days to 30 days:
A&N (UT) – 20.1 days
Haryana – 21 days
Himachal Pradesh – 24.5 days
Chandigarh (UT)- 25.4 days
Assam – 25.8 days
Uttarakhand – 26.6 days
Ladakh (UT) – 26.6 days
Doubling rate: More than 30 days:
Odisha – 39.8 days
Kerala – 72.2 days.
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All COVID-19 patients in Goa were discharged from hospital after recovery, and now Goa has no active case. Three districts – Mahe (Puducherry), Kodaggu (Karnataka) & Pauri Garhwal (Uttrakhand) have also not reported any fresh cases during the last 28 days. There are now 59 additional districts from 23 States/UTs that have not reported any fresh cases during the last 14 days. The six new districts in this list include — Dungarpur & Pali in Rajasthan, Jamnagar and Morbi in Gujarat, North Goa in Goa and Gomati in Tripura.

Meanwhile, the ministry has advised its officers and officials to take strict precautionary measures in containing the spread of the virus. They must:

• Use reusable/ cloth face cover;
• Strictly follow disinfection protocols;
• Frequently wash hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand rub/ sanitizers;
• Maintain adequate distance between each other; and
• Avoid the gathering of 5 or more people;