COVID-19 cases in Delhi jump to 1154; death toll reaches 24: Authorities

The total number of coronavirus cases in the national capital on Sunday rose to 1154, with 85 fresh cases and five deaths being reported in a day, according to the Delhi government authorities.

Of the total cases, 746 are those who have been brought to facilities through special operations.

The government authorities had last month carried out measures to quarantine people who were related to the religious congregation that took place in the Nizamuddin area in March.

By Saturday night, the number of cases of the deadly virus in the city stood at 1,069, including 19 deaths.

With five more fatalities reported, the death toll from COVID-19 in Delhi has jumped to 24.

Out of the total cases, 27 have been discharged and one has migrated out of the country, the authorities said.

Meanwhile, 10 more zones were identified as hotspots by authorities in localities in Kailash Hills and other areas.

The total number of hotspots in Delhi now stands at 43.

Taking further preventive measures, Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev has directed to make accommodation arrangements for lodging those people who are undergoing COVID-19 tests till their reports come, sources said on Sunday.

Following his direction, over 740 rooms have been booked at various hotels and other facilities in Delhi to lodge people till their reports come, they said.

Each facility has been attached to a city hospital, the sources said.

According to the Delhi Health Department, 325 of the total cases were people who had travelled abroad or came in contact with affected persons.

Over 2,000 delegates, including from Indonesia and Malaysia, attended the Tabligh-e-Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin West from March 1-15, as the south Delhi neighbourhood was virtually sealed earlier following fears that some people may have contracted COVID-19.

The civic authorities have carried out mass sanitisation and disinfection drive in hotspot areas in the last few days using drones and other measures.

Houses containment zones were being surveyed by medical teams and people were made aware about the signs and symptoms of COVID-19, methods of prevention, social distancing measures, importance of hand washing, the department said.

Sample collection for the high-risk areas in identified containment zones for people who had come in contacts with persons testing positive is being carried out, it said.

According to the Delhi Health Department, out of the total 1,154 cases recorded so far, 1,102 are admitted at various hospitals like LNJP Hospital, GTB Hospital, RML Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) and AIIMS, Jhajjhar.

Total number of COVID-19 samples sent till date stands at 14,036, the Delhi Health Department said in a statement.

As many as 2,464 have been kept in quarantine at various government facilities, it said.

A total of 25,722 people, who came in contact with affected persons, are under home quarantine till date and 15,064 have completed their 14-day quarantine, the authorities said.