India reports record 40,425 new virus cases

Published On: July 20, 2020 12:50 PM NPT By: Associated Press

A worker measures the temperature of a man before allowing him to enter La Vega market to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Santiago, Chile, July Sunday, 19, 2020. Chilean President Sebastian Piñera has announced a plan called "Step by Step" to carry out the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions amid the pandemic. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

NEW DELHI, July 20: India reported more than 40,000 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, a record high for the country.

The 40,425 new cases raised India’s total to 1,118,043, including 27,497 deaths.

The ministry said late Sunday that India’s coronavirus fatality rate — currently at 2.49% — is “progressively falling” due to an effective containment strategy and aggressive testing.

A country of 1.4 billion people, India has been conducting nearly 10,000 tests per million people. More than 300,000 samples are being tested every day now, compared to just a few hundred in March, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research, India’s top medical research body.

With a surge in infections in the past few weeks, local governments in India have been ordering focused lockdowns in high-risk areas.