| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Rajasthan saga: Pilot gets three days respiteThe Rajasthan High Court has pressed the 'pause' button on the fast unspooling Rajasthan crisis by directing the State Assembly Speaker not to take a decision on the disqualification notices issued by him until Friday. The Speaker had earlier sent notices to rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs supporting him for indulging in "anti-party activities". An order on the matter is expected on Friday. While Pilot and his supporters await their fate, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today held cabinet and legislature party meetings, signalling that he may not be averse to proving his majority on the floor of the assembly. The court verdict on Friday – which will have a bearing on whether or not the rebels continue as MLAs – will play a crucial role on determining the numbers on either side. If it clears the path for disqualification, Gehlot, who claims to have the support of 102 MLAs in the 200-member assembly, would be home and dry. If it doesn't, it could be a close call for the Rajasthan CM. Meanwhile, we have an analysis piece on Gehlot's free-flowing tirade against Pilot, which was the lead story in yesterday's newsletter. Gehlot's outburst, Deputy Editor Sandeep Phukan writes, reflects the diminishing clout of the party's top leadership at a time when the Congress is witnessing a churn with regard to its national leadership. "While Mr. Gehlot called Mr. Pilot 'nikamma' [worthless], the same 'worthless' leader was being wooed by the party's top leaders such as Ahmed Patel, P. Chidambaram, K.C. Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra." Caution against use of respirator masks  A recent advisory from the Health Ministry said the N-95 valved respirator masks do not prevent the virus from escaping out and, thus, may not aid in the containment of COVID-19. Representational image If you thought an N-95 mask was the highest grade of security against the coronavirus, think again. The Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) has cautioned against the use of N-95 valved respirator masks, stating that they do not prevent the virus from escaping outside, and thus may not aid in the containment of Covid-19. In a communication to States, the DGHS said, "It has come to our knowledge that the use of valved respirator N-95 masks is detrimental to the measures adopted for preventing the spread of coronavirus as they do not prevent the virus from escaping out of the mask. In view of the above, I request you to instruct all concerned to follow the use of face/mouth cover and prevent inappropriate use of N-95 masks." The Central government has stressed the need to wear at least home-made protective cover for the face and mouth whenever people step out of their residences. The advisory further said that the covers must be washed and cleaned each day and only cotton cloth must be used. Covid Watch: Numbers and DevelopmentsThe number of coronavirus cases reported from India stood at 11,88,791 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 28,747. The government today said its "ultimate aim" is to reduce Covid-19 positivity rates to 5%, and maintain aggressive testing levels. The ministry added that 30 states and union territories already had lower figures than the national average. It further said that cases per million in India is 837, which is very low compared to the figures for other countries. Deaths per million population is 20.4, compared to 77 in the rest of the world. Delhi's sero-prevalence survey  A doctor attending to a patient at a mohalla clinic in Raja Garden in West Delhi on March 26, 2020. The results of Delhi's sero-prevalence study, released on Tuesday, showed that 23.48% of the people surveyed had developed IgG (Immunoglobulin G) antibodies, indicating that they had been exposed to the coronavirus. The study indicated that a large number of infected persons remain asymptomatic. Releasing the results of the survey, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said in a statement that the sero-survey is done to determine the exposure of the novel coronavirus among the population. In other words, these antibody tests are not diagnostic, and are used to only check for the antibodies that are formed after a person catches an infection – they are a proxy to measure the extent of exposure to the virus in a given population. The Delhi study further indicated that while a significant proportion of the population is still vulnerable, only 23.48% of the people are affected nearly six months into the epidemic. These cases are mostly in Delhi's densely populated pockets. "The Capital will need to continue with its containment measures with the same rigour and non-pharmacological interventions such as physical distancing, use of face mask/cover, hand hygiene, cough etiquette, and avoidance of crowded places etc.," the study said. Rahul tweets out list of Modi govt's top "achievements"  Rahul Gandhi Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in a sarcastic tweet on Tuesday, mentioned "efforts to topple the Congress government in Rajasthan" among the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in the past six months, a time when India has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. This happens to be his first public comment on the political crisis in Rajasthan. "During the time of coronavirus, the government's achievements," began Gandhi's tweet, which went on to list the achievements: "February: Namaste Trump March: Brought down Madhya Pradesh government April: Had nation light candles May: Government's sixth anniversary June: Virtual rally in Bihar July: Attempts to pull down Rajasthan government. This is why the country is aatma-nirbhar (self-reliant) in the fight against coronavirus," the tweet ended, implying, through its use of PM Modi's catch-phrase, that Indians were left to fend for themselves at a time of crisis. The BJP was quick to hit back. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar put out a series of tweets: "Rahul Gandhi, note your achievements in the last six months -- February: Shaheen Bagh and Riots; March: Losing Jyotiraditya Scindia and Madhya Pradesh and April: Instigating migrant labourers. May: 6th anniversary of the historic defeat of the Congress; June: Defending China; July: Congress on virtual collapse in Rajasthan". In Brief: Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon passed away on Tuesday morning. He was 85. "Babuji nahi rahe (father is no more)", his son Ashutosh Tandon announced on Twitter. Tandon had been admitted to a private hospital in Lucknow on June 11 after he complained of breathing difficulties and fever, Raj Bhavan said. Warner Bros. on Monday said it was indefinitely deferring the release of Christopher Nolan's much awaited Tenet, which was scheduled to be the first major Hollywood theatre release after months of lockdown. "Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to proliferate, causing us to re-evaluate our release dates," Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich said in a statement. Nalini Sriharan, a life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, allegedly threatened to end her life in the Special Prison for Women in Vellore on Monday. According to the police, there was a spat between Nalini and another life convict. The Serum Institute of India, based in Pune, said it will apply for a licence to start clinical trials of the coronavirus vaccine developed at Oxford University, PTI reported. The firm is the world's largest vaccine-maker in terms of the number of doses produced and sold globally. It has partnered with biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to mass produce the Oxford vaccine. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
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