India recorded 37,724 new COVID-19 cases today taking the total count of cases to 11,92,915, including 28,732 deaths, according to the government data. A total of 648 people died due to COVID-19-related symptoms in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra remains the worst affected state with a total of 3,27,031 cases. The second worst-hit state, Tamil Nadu reported a total of 1,75,678 COVID-19 cases while Delhi reported cumulative 1,25,096 cases.
The Union Health Ministry said that the country's COVID-19 recovery rate is increasing day by day and on Tuesday it was 62.72 per cent.
The country's fatality rate also dropped significantly to 2.43 per cent from 3.36 per cent on June 17 due to effective clinical management of coronavirus cases, the Centre said, asserting the country has handled the pandemic "relatively well".
In India, the COVID-19 deaths per million population stand at 20.4 per million which is amongst lowest in the world, Rajesh Bhushan, officer on special duty in the Union health ministry, said.
Here are the Updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases:
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath wrote to the Election Commission, suggesting that the upcoming Assembly bypolls should be conducted using ballot papers in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
Bye-elections are due on 26 seats which fell vacant following resignations of 24 Congress MLAs and death of two legislators earlier.
In March this year, 22 Congress MLAs resigned from the state Assembly paving way for BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan to take over as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister for the fourth time.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday clarified that the state's discharge policy regarding COVID-19 patients is different from the existing policies at the national level and in other states.
"Kerala has always followed a policy of discharging patients only after they test negative. The policy is to ensure the safety of the community and to prevent the further spread of the disease. In the third phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in the state, the numbers have been increasing rapidly and today it has cross 1,000," the Chief Minister said.
With 972 new coronavirus cases reported in Assam on Wednesday, the tally of people infected with the virus in the state has climbed to 27,744.
Out of these new cases, 354 cases were recorded from Kamrup (M) and 51 from Jorhat.The total number of cases include 19,350 discharged cases, 8325 active cases and 66 deaths.
"972 new COVID-19 patients in Assam today. Out of these, 354 cases were recorded from Kamrup (M) and 51 from Jorhat. Total number of cases stands at 2774, including 19350 discharged cases, 8325 active cases and 66 deaths," State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed on Wednesday.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday chaired a meet of medical experts from various streams of medical treatment to address the COVID-19 challenge in the state.
Experts from Indian Medical Association (IMA) were there alongside experts from Ayurveda, Yunani Medicine, Homeopathy, etc.
The Chief Minister emphasised that all these ways of treatment are important and effective in the treatment of COVID-19.
"All should come together and finalise a list of their suggestions for treatment of COVID-19 and give that to state's task force dealing with the prevention and cure of COVID-19," Mr Thackeray said.
The Maharashtra Chief Minister has requested all experts to give their suggestions in two parts. The first part of their suggestion will contain the preventive measures and the second part of their suggestions will have the treatment protocol for COVID-19.
Fifty-four more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Nagaland, taking the state's coronavirus tally to 1,084 on Wednesday, Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom said.
Out of the new cases, 23 were detected in Dimapur, 19 in Kohima, seven in Zunheboto, two each in Mon and Mokokchung and one in Peren district, he said.
Nagaland has 598 active cases now, while 486 have recovered from the disease, health officials said.
Dimapur district accounted for the highest 432 cases, followed by 250 in Peren, 217 in Kohima, 99 in Mon, 44 in Tuensang, 17 in Phek, 12 in Zunheboto, nine in Mokokchung, three in Longleng and one in Wokha.
Kiphire is the only district that does not report any positive case to date.
To fulfill the financial requirements for COVID-19 management in the state, the Odisha government will restrict the capital expenditure in non-priority sectors from the budgetary allocation of different departments for the financial year 2020-21.
The decision regarding this was taken at the Council of Ministers meeting held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to discuss COVID management and the future course of action.
"In view of the evolving COVID-19 situation and future financial need to tackle public health emergency, there will be rationalisation of expenditure at the government level, because our priorities are to save life and livelihood. Expenditures relating to health, social security, employment generation, livelihood, agriculture, horticulture, animal resources development sectors will be given priority. Especially, there will be no compromise for required expenditure in the health sector," Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy said at the meeting.
Andhra Pradesh has reported 6,045 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours taking the total count of cases to 64,713.
According to the state Health Department, there are 31,763 active cases in the state while the number of discharged patients stands at 32,127.
The number of deaths due to COVID-19 stand at 823 in the state after 65 more patients succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours.
With 37,724 cases and 648 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India stands at 11,92,915.
Jharkhand on Wednesday reported 439 new cases of COVID-19, while three more people died due to the disease, as per the bulletin issued by the state government.
One of the deceased was from Koderma, while the others were from Ranchi, it said.
The state's death count stands at 64.
There are 3,570 active cases in the state, with the infection tally rising to 6,682, it said.
A total of 3,048 people have so far recovered and discharged from hospitals, the bulletin said.
Two persons died due to COVID-19 infection in Assam on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 66, while 972 fresh cases were reported in the state, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The state's infection tally stands at 27,744, he said.
Two patients, aged 54 and 47 years, from Jorhat and Kamrup Metro, respectively, died on Wednesday.
"Two more patients lost the battle against #COVID19 today taking total death count in Assam to 66. My thoughts and prayers are with their families," the minister tweeted.
Out of the 972 new COVID19 positive cases reported in Assam, 354 cases were recorded from Kamrup Metropolitan and 51 from Jorhat district.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Amravati district of Maharashtra is about to reach the 1,500- mark as 69 new patients found on Wednesday alone took the tally to 1,485, health officials said.
The district has so far reported 42 deaths, they said.
A total of 88 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day following recovery. This took the number of such people in the district to 986.
The count of active patients stands at 457, including 14 being treated in Nagpur, the officials said.
The Delhi government on Wednesday said nearly 78 per cent beds for coronavirus patients are lying vacant in government and private hospitals of the city.
The national capital recorded 1,227 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the infection tally to 1,26,323.
Delhi hospitals have a total of 15,475 beds for COVID-19 patients, out of which, only 3,342 beds are occupied, indicating that nearly 78.40 per cent beds are available, according to the city government's health bulletin.
As many as 7,966 patients are in home isolation, it said.
Nearly 7,500 beds are lying vacant, out of nearly 10,000 beds, available in COVID care centres and health centres, the bulletin said.

Researchers are making "good progress" in developing vaccines against COVID-19, with a handful in late-stage trials, but their first use cannot be expected until early 2021, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Wednesday." itemprop="description
Amid resources crunch caused by the COVID-19 crisis, the Odisha government on Wednesday decided to slash new expenditures in non-priority sectors and to go for fund mobilisation for the war against pandemic, news agency PTI reported.
Lockdown to be imposed in Bhopal for 10 days from 8 pm on July 24: Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra. (File pic) #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/BXREJRFj2i
- ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2020
29 fresh #COVID19 positive cases have been reported in Chandigarh today, taking the total number of cases to 780 including 241 active cases and 13 deaths: Health Department, Chandigarh
- ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2020
"We have been saying from the beginning that there is lack of transparency. The bulletins that are been put by the Telangana Government do not follow any standard proforma and the information is put out very selectively. Nowhere in the country and world have there this kind of lack of transparency," the Congress leader told ANI.
"I do not know who the state government is trying to fool. The data that is available is not complete for any meaningful decisions to be taken," he added.
Mr Reddy said that he was "happy" that the High Court is "taking an interest in making things right".
Addressing the India Ideas Summit organised by the US-India Business Council through video conferencing, she said that Finance Ministry and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) were working together and 3.9 per cent of GDP has been infused as liquidity in the Indian economy.
"Indicators show green shoots in the economy. Power consumption has gone up, businesses have got more traction. The stimulus has made a big difference for companies coping with the effects of the lockdown," she said.
The minister said agriculture and infrastructure were among the sectors included in the stimulus package.
The court had on July 20 directed senior officials, including the Chief Secretary, to appear before it on July 28 in connection with the matter.
The court had expressed unhappiness over the lesser number of COVID-19 tests being done, as compared to other states, pulled up the government and asked why it was not providing all details in the COVID-19 cases daily bulletin.
"Our objective is to bring the vaccine to everybody, (and) equally to do so on a not-for-profit basis so we shall be providing the vaccine at cost price," Pascal Soriot told RTL radio.
"At cost price that will be about 2.5 euros ($2.8) per unit.
"We hope to be able to produce a vaccine by the end of the year... perhaps a little earlier if all goes well" on the back of phase three results expected in the autumn, Soriot added in an interview.
Early results of a closely watched Phase 1/2 trial published this week in The Lancet suggest the vaccine candidate is safe and induces an immune response.
US group Johnson & Johnson has also vowed to deliver a vaccine at "non-profit" pricing.
"Remdesivir which is currently available in the government hospitals will be supplied to private hospitals through the government. This will help curb black marketing of this drug," Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar's office said in a release.
Along with Sudhakar, other task force members, including Health Minister Sriramulu, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan and Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar attended the meeting.However Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai was not part of it as he was out of Bengaluru.