Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced extension of the lockdown in the Capital by another week till May 24 to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The national capital recorded 6,430 new Covid-19 cases and 337 fatalities on Saturday while the positivity rate dipped to 11.32 per cent, even as Kejriwal asserted that the cases are “slowly and steadily” reducing in Delhi. This is the second consecutive day when Delhi has recorded less than 10,000 cases in a day.
However, the lesser number of fresh cases recorded on Saturday came from a relatively smaller number of tests — 56,811 — conducted on Friday. According to the latest health bulletin, 6,430 fresh cases were recorded, while the 337 new fatalities pushed the death toll here to 21,244.
Delhi on Friday had recorded 8,506 COVID-19 cases, the lowest since April 10, with medical experts attributing the lockdown as the main factor behind the dip amid the second wave of the pandemic.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal said, “Today, even lesser cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Delhi. In the past 24 hours, about 6,500 cases have come up. “Yesterday, we had 8,500 cases. In the last 24 hours, the infection rate has declined even further to 11 per cent, while it was 12 per cent yesterday”. “The virus is reducing in Delhi slowly and steadily, and I hope it diminishes completely and does not rise again. However, we are not going to become negligent in anyway,” he said, with a tone of caution.
Delhi has been reeling under a brutal second wave of the pandemic that is sweeping the country, claiming a massive number of lives daily, with the recent oxygen supply shortage issue at various hospitals adding to its woes. On Thursday, the city had recorded 10,489 cases and 308 deaths.
The highest single-day spike in Delhi last year — 8,593 cases — was reported on November 11. A total of 56,811 tests, including 46,774 RT-PCR tests and 10,037 rapid antigen tests, were conducted on Friday, according to the latest health bulletin.
The number of cumulative cases on Saturday stood at 13,87,411. Over 12 lakh patients have recovered from the infection. Lauding the healthcare workers, Kejriwal said, “Yesterday, we prepared 500 additional ICU beds, and 500 similar beds were made four days ago. Within 15 days, our doctors, engineers and workers have prepared 1,000 ICU beds. They have set an example for the world. I salute them on behalf of the people of Delhi and thank them for their work.” The number of active cases decreased to 66,295 on Saturday from 71,794 a day before, as per the bulletin.
The number of people under home isolation dipped to 42,484 from 45,099 on Friday while the number of containment zones mounted to 57,179 from 56,470 a day before, the bulletin said.
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