Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced extension of the ongoing lockdown by one more week in the national capital to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The national capital has been under a lockdown since April 19 in view of a surge in COVID-19 cases in the second wave of pandemic.

The Chief Minister said the lockdown is being extended as the gains made so far in combating the coronavirus cannot be lost due to relaxations now.

"Delhi has been recovering at a good speed. The number of cases are on steady decline. But I do not want to lose the gains that we have achieved in the last few days. That is why we are extending the lockdown till 5 am on next Monday instead of ending it tomorrow," Arvind Kejriwal Kejriwal told.

The daily count of cases in Delhi has seen a steady decline over the last few days and the positivity rate dropped too. On Saturday, Delhi reported 6,430 new COVID-19 cases, that was the second consecutive day in over a month when the daily spike of new cases remained below the 10,000-mark.

According to the Delhi government's health bulletin on Saturday, there are 66,295 active coronavirus cases in the national capital. The positivity rate has come down to 11.32 per cent, which is the lowest since April 12. The death toll in Delhi has now reached 21,244, while the cumulative fatality rate is at 1.53 per cent.