Delhi recorded 1,934 new Covid cases, the highest since February 4, with a positivity rate of 8.10 per cent on Thursday, a day after it reported the lowest number of new infections in over a week, according to data shared by the health department here. The single-day figures were over 108 per cent higher than the previous day's figures. On February 4, the capital had logged 2,272 cases and 20 deaths with a positivity rate of 3.85 per cent.
No Covid-related death was recorded on Thursday. Delhi recorded 928 fresh COVID-19 cases, lowest in over a week, with a positivity rate of 7.08 per cent and three more fatalities due to the viral disease in a span of 24 hours, on Wednesday. It was for the first time after June 13 that the capital had logged less than 1,000 cases in a day. Delhi had reported 614 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 7.06 per cent on June 13.
A total of 23,879 tests to detect the infection were conducted on Wednesday, the department said. With the fresh cases, Delhi's Covid tally has gone up to 19,27,394, while the death toll stands at 26,242, it added. Of the 9,496 beds in the city hospitals, only 265 are occupied, up from 263 a day ago, while the beds at the Covid care centres and the Covid health centres are lying vacant, the department said.
With a surge in COVID-19 infections in Delhi, hospitals are also witnessing a slight increase in admissions, but most of these patients, doctors say, have comorbid conditions. The number of active COVID-19 cases on Wednesday climbed to 5,755 from 5,054 the previous day, according to the data.
As many as 3,564 patients are under home isolation, down from 3,892 on Wednesday, while there are 309 Covid containment zones in the capital, up from 291 the previous day. The national capital had recorded 1,383 fresh coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 7.22 per cent and one fatality on Tuesday.
On Monday, Delhi had logged 1,060 new Covid cases and six deaths, the highest in over four months, while the positivity rate had risen to 10.09 per cent. This was the highest case positivity rate recorded in the national capital since January 24, when 11.8 per cent of the people tested had turned out to be positive.
Also, the single-day death toll of six was the highest since February 13, when 12 people had succumbed to the viral infection. Despite the rise in the positivity rate, the city government has not implemented the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) devised by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) since hospital admissions are low.
The GRAP came into force in August last year, stipulating measures to be taken by the government in accordance with the positivity rate and bed occupancy for the locking and unlocking of various activities. Experts have said people lowering their guard and travelling during the vacation season are the main reasons behind the latest upward trend in the number of coronavirus cases in Delhi.
The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Delhi had touched the record high of 28,867 on January 13 during the third wave of the pandemic. The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the third wave of the pandemic.
-With PTI Input
