Third wave of COVID-19 in Delhi seems to have been brought under control: Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday said the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Delhi seems to be under control now, as the city reported 1,133 fresh cases at a positivity rate of less than 1.5 per cent.

"There was a time in November when the daily cases went up to nearly 8,600. But, even then it wasn't a panicky situation in Delhi, and beds were available. We fought it all together. The fresh cases count today is 1,133, the official report will soon be out," he told an online briefing.

The highest single-day spike till date -- 8,593 cases -- was reported on November 11. The chief minister said the situation in Delhi has improved significantly as the positivity rate had gone up to 15.26 per cent as in early November.

It is now down to 1.3 per cent, one of the lowest so far in Delhi, and nationally too, he said. "It seems, together all of us have brought the third wave of pandemic in Delhi under control," Kejriwal said.

The active cases, which were around 45,000 in November, are now down to about 12,000, he added.

"The daily average test count falls in the region of 90,000 in Delhi. Someone had advised us to show improvement in testing figures through fraudulent procedures. I issued strict orders, I can say that all our tests figures are genuine," he said.

The chief minister said, "I salute COVID-19 warriors, frontline worker; thank Centre, political parties and religious institutions for their support and cooperation".

He also said people can't afford to be complacent about COVID-19 situation here, and "advised them to still be vigilant, observe safety norms like wearing masks and observing social distancing."