"Will Cross 20-Lakh Covid Mark By August 10 At This Pace": Rahul Gandhi

India will cross the 20 lakh-mark in coronavirus cases by August 10 if the current rate of infection continues, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said this morning as he launched a fresh attack on the government over its handling of the pandemic after the country's coronavirus tally surged to 10 lakh infections.

"The 10,00,000-mark has been crossed. If COVID-19 continues to spread at this pace, we will soon cross the 20,00,000-lakh mark by August 10. The government should take prudent steps to tackle the pandemic," the 50-year-old Congress MP from Kerala's Wayanad wrote in Hindi.

In his post, Rahul Gandhi shared his July 14 tweet where he had said that "India will cross 10,00,000 cases this week". He has been targeting the government constantly since the beginning of the pandemic.

Last week, Mr Gandhi had said that "it is extremely unfair" to conduct exams during the pandemic after the top educational body - The University Grants Commission - took a decision in the matter.

Earlier, he had criticised the government over the strict curbs put in place to check the spread of the virus, stressing that many were left helpless.

The country's coronavirus count touched the 1 million-mark after 34,956 fresh infections and 687 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said this morning.

Over 6.35 lakh people or 63.34 per cent of the patients have recovered so far.

Since July 6, India has logged over 3 lakh new patients, indicating a sharp spike in cases as more samples are tested. Over 1.24 crore samples have been tested so far.

Amid surge in cases, lockdowns are being re-imposed in several parts of the country after the easing of restrictions easing in recent weeks as officials hoped the outbreak was under control.