Delhi reports 8506 new coronavirus cases, positivity rate at 12.4%

Delhi reported 8,506 new coronavirus cases, the lowest in over a month, with a positivity rate of 12.40 per cent, while 289 more people succumbed to the infection, the Health Department said on Friday.

However, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said ICU beds in hospitals in the city were still full.

The less number of fresh cases can also be attributed to a smaller number of tests -- 68575 -- conducted on Thursday.

At 12.40 per cent, the positivity rate is the lowest since April 11 when it stood at 9.4 per cent. The number of new infections is the lowest since April 10 when 7,897 people were diagnosed with the disease, according to government data.

In a virtual press conference, Kejriwal said the number of new infections reduced to around 8,500 from a high of around 28,000 cases and that the positivity rate dipped to around 12 per cent from a high of 36 per cent on April 22.

"In the past 10 days, 3,000 beds have become empty, however, ICU beds are still full," he added.

Delhi had reported 10,489 cases on Thursday, 13,287 cases on Wednesday, 12,481 on Tuesday, 12,651 on Monday, 13,336 on Sunday, 17,364 on Saturday, 19,832 on last Friday, 19,133 on last Thursday, 20,960 on last Wednesday and 19,953 last Tuesday.

The positivity rate was 14.24 per cent on Thursday, 17 per cent on Wednesday, 17.8 per cent on Tuesday, 19.10 per cent on Monday, 21.67 per cent on Sunday and 23.34 per cent on Saturday.

On April 22, a positivity rate of 36.2 per cent, the highest so far, was recorded.

There were 308 deaths on Thursday, 300 deaths on Wednesday, 347 on Tuesday, 319 on Monday, 273 deaths on Sunday and 332 deaths on Saturday.