44 new Covid-19 cases, five deaths in Delhi; positivity rate 0.06%

Delhi recorded 44 fresh COVID-19 cases and five deaths due to the disease on Friday while the positivity rate dipped to 0.06 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here.

The national capital recorded 44 fresh COVID-19 cases and five deaths due to the disease on Friday while the positivity rate dipped to 0.06 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here.

The coronavirus death toll in the city has risen to 25,065, the latest health bulletin showed.

So far, the city has reported 14,36,623 cases of COVID-19 of which over 14.1 lakh patients have recovered. The number of active cases slightly decreased to 516 on Friday from 518 a day before.

A total of 79,168 tests, including 55,106 RT-PCR tests and 24,062 rapid antigen tests, were conducted a day ago.

The number of people under home isolation increased to 170 on Friday from 166 a day before, while the number of containment zones dropped to 272 from 284 on Thursday, the bulletin said.

On Thursday, 61 cases with a positivity rate of 0.08 per cent and two deaths were recorded. The previous day, 44 new cases and five deaths were reported.

No death due to COVID-19 was recorded in Delhi on Wednesday, while 67 fresh cases were reported with a positivity rate of 0.09 per cent. This was the fifth time since the start of the second wave that zero fatality was logged in a day in Delhi.

On July 18, July 24, July 29 and August 2 too, no death due to COVID-19 was recorded, as per official data.

On March 2 this year, the national capital had reported zero death due to the virus. That day, the number of single-day infections stood at 217 and the positivity rate was 0.33 per cent.

The second wave swept the city during the April-May period during which the infection rate reached a peak of 36 per cent.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said the city government was preparing to set up 37,000 beds for COVID-19 patients in anticipation of a third wave and emphasised that if the positivity rate reaches five per cent again, lockdown will be immediately imposed.

Addressing a virtual session hosted by Assocham India, the minister also said that the government was preparing to combat the pandemic's next wave, assuming a "worst-case scenario".

Last week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said the total number of anti-coronavirus vaccine doses administered in Delhi has crossed the one-crore mark and of the eligible population in the city 50 per cent have received at least one jab.

Despite fall in daily cases in the last several days, Kejriwal had recently cautioned that the chances of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic were quite real, while he asserted that his government was preparing on a "war-footing" to combat it.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) recently had passed a colour-coded response action plan under which curbs will be implemented in accordance with the severity of the COVID-19 situation here to deal with a possible third wave of infections.

It DDMA recently announced further lifting of restrictions, in view of the improved coronavirus situation. Following the relaxations in norms, the Delhi Metro is running with full seating capacity from July 26, with still no provision for standing travel for commuters.