Delhi records 17,335 new Covid cases; positivity rate climbs to 17.73%

Delhi on Friday recorded 17,335 fresh Covid cases, the highest single-day rise since May 8, and nine deaths, while the positivity rate mounted to 17.73 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.

This is a significant rise from Thursday when the city recorded 15,097 new cases at a positivity rate of 15.34 per cent.

On Wednesday and Tuesday, 10,665 and 5,481cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 11.88 per cent and 8.37 per cent respectively, according to official figures.

On Friday, the count mounted to 17,335 with a positivity rate of 17.73 per cent, according to the latest health bulletin.

This is the highest single-day rise since May 8 when 17,364 cases were logged with a positivity rate of 23.34 per cent. As many as 332 deaths were also recorded on that day.

The huge spike in fresh cases over the past several days is being recorded amid a significant jump in cases of new Omicron variant of Covid.

The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi has now risen to 25,136.

The number of cumulative cases on Thursday stood at 15,06,798. Over 14.41 lakh patients have recovered from the infection.

During the height of the second wave of the pandemic, 28,395 cases, the highest-ever single-day tally here, and 277 deaths were recorded in Delhi on April 20 last year, as per official figures.

Nine COVID-19 deaths were reported here in December last year, and seven in November, according to official data. Delhi had recorded four Covid deaths in October and five in September.

A total of 97,762 tests -- 78,154 RT-PCR tests and 19,608 rapid antigen tests -- were conducted a day ago, the bulletin said.