Confirmed cases near 20,000; death toll crosses 600

New Delhi: The nationwide tally of confirmed infections on Tuesday neared 20,000 with new cases being reported from various states and the death toll crossing 600.

The Union Health Ministry officials said the recovery rate has improved to 17.5 per cent and a record number of 705 patients were cured and discharged on Monday itself.

Overall, more than 3,800 persons have been cured and discharged so far, while there are more than 15,000 active cases in the country now, as per figures announced by various state governments.

At a daily press briefing on the COVID-19 situation, Home Ministry Joint Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said the Centre has sent teams under Disaster Management Act to four states — Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

While new cases were also reported from various states including Odisha and Kerala — where the infection spread has been relatively slower — as many as 115 families residing at the President's Estate in the national Capital have also been put under self-isolation as a preventive measure after a sanitation worker's relative tested positive for the deadly Coronavirus.