Delhi records 1,819 more Covid-19 cases

Delhi reported 1,819 coronavirus cases on Wednesday with a positivity rate of 2.71 percent, while 11 more people succumbed to the pathogen, the Health Department said.

The number of cumulative cases stands at 6,62,430. Over 6.42 lakh patients have recovered from the virus.

The city had recorded 992 cases on Tuesday, 1,904 cases on Monday and 1,881 cases on Sunday.

It reported 1,558 cases on Saturday, 1,534 cases on Friday, 1,515 cases on Thursday, 1,254 cases on Wednesday and 1,101 cases last Tuesday, when it crossed the 1,000-mark for the first time since December 24.

The positivity rate was 2.70 percent on Tuesday, 2.77 percent on Monday, 2.35 percent on Sunday,1.70 percent on Saturday,1.80 percent on Friday, and 1.69 percent on Thursday.

Eleven more people died due to the disease, taking the toll to 11,027, it said.

The number of active cases rose to 8,838 from 7,429 on Tuesday.

A total of 6,7,070 tests, including 36,808 RT-PCR tests, were conducted a day ago, the bulletin said.

The number of people under home isolation rose to 5,196 from 4,832 a day ago. The containment zones rose to 2,009 from 1,903 on Tuesday, it said.

The caseload in Delhi on January 1 had stood at over 6.25 lakh and the total fatalities were 10,557.

The number of daily cases had started to come down in February. On February 26, the month's highest daily count of 256 cases was recorded.

However, the daily cases began to rise again in March and have been steadily increasing since then.

Health Minister Satyendar Jain had last week dismissed any possibility of imposing another lockdown in Delhi, saying it was not a solution to check the spread of the coronavirus that is again surging rapidly.

Earlier in the day, he said230 more ICU beds for coronavirus patients have been added in 33 private hospitals on the directions of the city government.

Also, the number of non-ICU beds in these private facilities has been increased by 842.

We are in a comfortable position (in terms of the number of beds available). Overall, only 25 percent of the beds for coronavirus patients in government and private hospitals are occupied," Jain told reporters.

Health experts and doctors have attributed this "sudden rise" in cases to people turning complacent and not following COVID-appropriate behaviour.

The nexttwo-three months could be challenging, they said, adding the situation can be kept under control if vaccination is opened up for more people and Covid-19 protocols are strictly adhered to.