COVID-19: Delhi records 1,674 fresh cases; positivity rate dips to 3.15 pc

New Delhi, December 7

Delhi recorded 1,674 fresh COVID-19 cases on Monday, the lowest in over three months, even as the positivity rate slipped to 3.15 per cent, authorities said.

The positivity rate on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday had stood at 4.96 per cent, 4.78 per cent, 4.2 per cent and 3.68 per cent, respectively.

These relatively low number of fresh cases came out of 53,207 tests conducted the previous day, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.

Sixty-three fatalities were recorded, pushing the toll in the national capital to 9,706, while the positivity rate dropped to 3.15 per cent, the bulletin said, adding that the average death rate of the past 10 days stood at 2.14 per cent.

Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain tweeted about the improved COVID-19 situation, “In a month, positivity declined to 3.15 per cent today from 15.26 per cent on November 7. During the same period, RT-PCR positivity reduced to 6.68 per cent from 30.20 per cent. Lowest positivity in the last 6 months. Steadily COVID cases and positivity are coming down. Hope this will continue. Please observe all precautions.”                

The active cases tally on Monday dropped to 22,486 from 24,693 the previous day.

Delhi recorded 2,706 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

The fall in daily cases here is significant, as it is the lowest since August 31, when 1,358 fresh incidences were recorded.

The Monday bulletin said that the total number of cases has climbed to 5,93,924, while the recovery rate stood at over 94 per cent.

The number of containment zones in Delhi jumped to 6,292 on Monday from 6,173 on Sunday.

The highest single-day spike of 8,593 cases till date was reported on November 11.

Jain on Friday had said if the COVID-19 positivity rate in the national capital stayed below 4 per cent for five consecutive days, it would indicate that the city has successfully combated the pandemic.

The recent spike in cases had come during the festive season and rising pollution level. While Durga Puja celebrations ended on October 25, Diwali fell on Saturday and Chhath was observed on November 20-21.

The National Centre for Disease Control in a report drafted recently had warned that Delhi needs to be prepared for about 15,000 fresh cases of COVID-19 per day, taking into account the upcoming winter season-related respiratory problems, large influx of patients from outside and festive gatherings.

According to the Monday bulletin, out of the total number of 18,813 beds in COVID hospitals, 12,790 are vacant.

It said that 580 beds in COVID care centres are occupied by persons under quarantine, including travellers who have returned by the Vande Bharat Mission and bubble flights.

The Delhi government had significantly ramped up testing in the past few weeks, with the count on several times crossing the 60,000-mark.

On Sunday, 21,362 RT-PCR tests and 31,845 rapid antigen tests were conducted, adding to 53,207, the bulletin said.

On Thursday and Friday, over 80,000 tests were conducted.

The number of tests done per million as on Sunday was over 3.57 lakh while the total number of tests stood at over 67.9 lakh.

The bulletin said that 5,61,732 patients have recovered, been discharged or migrated so far.

The number of people in home isolation dropped to 14,279 on Monday from 15,276 the previous day. PTI