COVID: Delhi records 3,188 fresh cases, 57 fatalities; lowest death since Nov 5

Delhi recorded 3,188 fresh COVID-19 cases and 57 fatalities on Tuesday, even as Health Minister Satyendar Jain asserted that it was lowest number of deaths in a single-day, since November 5.

Delhi recorded 3,188 fresh COVID-19 cases and 57 fatalities on Tuesday, even as Health Minister Satyendar Jain asserted that it was lowest number of deaths in a single-day, since November 5. The positivity rate stood at 4.23 per cent, while over 75,000 tests were conducted the previous day, authorities said.

The positivity rate on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday had successively dipped to 4.96 per cent, 4.78 per cent, 4.2 per cent, 3.68 per cent and 3.15 per cent, respectively. These fresh cases came out of 75,409 tests conducted the previous day, including 31,098 RT-PCR tests, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department.

Fifty-seven fatalities were recorded, pushing the toll in the national capital to 9,763, the bulletin said. ''Number of deaths in Delhi are on a decline. Lowest deaths since Nov 5th. Our frontline warriors like doctors and nurses are working round the clock to save each and every life. I Request you all to observe all precautions for this trend to decline further,'' Jain tweeted.

On November 5, the city had recorded 66 fatalities from COVID-19, according to official data. The active cases tally on Tuesday dropped to 22,310 from 22,486, the previous day.

The bulletin said that the total number of cases has climbed to 5,97,112, while the recovery rate stood at over 94 per cent. The number of containment zones in Delhi jumped to 6,357 on Tuesday from 6,292 on Monday.

The highest single-day spike of 8593 cases till date was reported on November 11. Jain on Friday had said if the COVID-19 positivity rate in the national capital stayed below 4 per cent for five consecutive days, it would indicate that the city has successfully combated the pandemic.

The recent spike in cases had come during the festive season and rising pollution level. While Durga Puja celebrations ended on October 25, Diwali fell on Saturday and Chhath was observed on November 20-21. The National Centre for Disease Control in a report drafted recently had warned that Delhi needs to be prepared for about 15,000 fresh cases of COVID-19 per day taking into account the upcoming winter season-related respiratory problems, large influx of patients from outside and festive gatherings.

According to the Tuesday bulletin, out of the total number of 18,807 beds in COVID hospitals, 13,080 are vacant. It said that 288 beds in COVID care centres are occupied by persons under quarantine, including travellers who have returned by the Vande Bharat Mission and bubble flights.

The Delhi government had significantly ramped up testing in the past few weeks, with the count on several times crossing the 60,000-mark. On Monday, 31,098 RT-PCR tests and 44,311 rapid antigen tests were conducted, adding to 75,409, the bulletin said.

On Thursday and Friday, over 80,000 tests were conducted. The number of tests done per million, as on Monday was over 3.6 lakh while the total number of tests stood at over 68 lakh.

The bulletin said that 5,65,039 patients have recovered, been discharged or migrated so far. The number of people in home isolation dropped to 12,909 on Tuesday from 14,279 the previous day.