231 new Covid cases in Delhi; Jain says situation seems quite under control

Delhi recorded 231 fresh COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths on Tuesday, even as Health Minister Satyendar Jain said the coronavirus situation in the national capital seems quite under control at present.

On Monday, the city had recorded 161 cases, the lowest in nearly nine months with a positivity rate of 0.32 per cent.

The infection tally in the city stood at over 6.32 lakh and the death toll mounted to 10,764 with 10 new fatalities, authorities said on Tuesday.

On April 26, the city had recorded 293 cases, according to official data.

"The fresh cases as well as active cases, both have come down a lot. Seems, the situation is lot under control now in Delhi," Jain told reporters on Tuesday.

A senior doctor at Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) said the positivity rate has steadily come down in the past few weeks, indicating "we have put the worst of COVID-19 pandemic behind us".

RGSSH till recently was a dedicated coronavirus facility, and has treated nearly 4,000 COVID-19 patients till date. The number of active cases at the hospital has come down to nine now, according to officials.

This month, 585 cases were reported on January 1; 494 on January 2; 424 on January 3; 384 on January 4; 442 on January 5; 654 on January 6; 486 on January 7; 444 on January 8; 519 on January 9; 399 on January 10; 306 on January 11; 386 on January 12; 357 on January 13 and 340 on January 14.

From January 15-17, the daily figures stood at 295; 299; and 246 respectively.

The active cases tally on Tuesday marginally dropped to 2,334 from 2,335 the previous day, while the positivity rate was 0.32 per cent.

On December 29 and 30, the city had recorded 703 and 677 cases respectively. On December 31, 574 cases were recorded.

These 231 new cases came out the 72,441 tests conducted the previous day, including 37,770 RT-PCR tests and 34,671 rapid antigen tests, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.

The bulletin said the total number of coronavirus cases has climbed to 6,32,821, while recovery rate was over 97 per cent.

According to the Tuesday bulletin, out of the total number of 9,244 beds in COVID hospitals, 8,253 are vacant.

It said 273 beds in COVID care centres are occupied by persons under quarantine, including travellers who have returned by Vande Bharat Mission and bubble flights.

The number of tests done per million, as on Monday, was over 5.2 lakh while the total number of tests stood at over 99.9 lakh.

The bulletin said 6,19,723 patients have recovered, been discharged or migrated so far.

The number of containment zones in Delhi dropped to 2,172 on Tuesday from 2,253 the previous day, authorities said.

The number of people in home isolation dropped to 1,027 on Tuesday from 1,079 the previous day, they added.