COVID-19: Confirmed cases near 20,000, death toll crosses 600; ICMR to test rapid testing kits

With testing being ramped up to identify COVID-19 patients, the efficacy of China-made rapid antibody blood test kits has come under scanner with Rajasthan on Tuesday flagging their "inaccurate results", prompting the apex medical research body ICMR to ask states to stop these tests for two days for further validation.

While the nationwide tally of confirmed infections neared 20,000 with new cases reported from various states and the death toll crossed 600, the Union Health Ministry officials also 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.

While West Bengal reported three more deaths on Tuesday, a political standoff emerged between the state and the Centre after Union Home Ministry said the state government was not cooperating with the central teams visiting there to assess the COVID-19 situation.

The state's ruling party Trinamool Congress said the visit of central teams to West Bengal was like "adventure tourism" and asked why such delegations were not sent to states with much higher numbers of infections and hotspots.

Later in the day, one of the two teams sent to the state visited certain areas of Kolkata, escorted by the Border Security Force (BSF) and state police personnel.

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 Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are extending full support, the government in West Bengal is not doing so, she said,