Delhi records 197 new coronavirus cases; positivity rate dips to 0.26 per cent

Delhi recorded 197 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the second time the new daily incidences count stood below the 200-mark in January, while the positivity rate slipped to 0.26 per cent.

The city's infection tally is now over 6.33 lakh and the death toll 10,799 with 10 new fatalities, authorities said.

On Monday, the city had recorded 161 cases, the lowest in nearly nine months, with a positivity rate of 0.32 per cent.

The active cases tally on Saturday dropped to 1,880 from 200 the previous day, while the positivity rate dipped to 0.26 per cent, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department.

Health Minister Satyendar Jain had earlier said that the low number of active cases in Delhi was ''satisfactory''.

This month, 585 cases were reported on January 1 and 494 on January 2; 424 on January 3; 384 on January 4, and 442 on January 5; 654 on January 6; 486 on January 7 and 444 on January 8; 519 on January 9 and 399 on January 10; 306 on January 11 and 386 on January 12 and 357 on January 13 and 340 on January 14.

From January 15-22, the daily figures stood at 295; 299; 246; 161; 231; 228; 227 and 266, respectively.

The 197 new cases recorded on Saturday came out the 76,868 tests conducted the previous day, including 47,467 RT-PCR tests and 29,401 rapid antigen tests.

The latest bulletin said the total number of cases has climbed to 6,33,739.

According to it, out of total 9,053 beds in COVID hospitals in Delhi, 8,199 are vacant.

It said 135 beds in COVID care centres are occupied by people under quarantine, including travellers who have returned by Vande Bharat Mission and bubble flights.

The number of COVID-19 tests done per million, as on Friday, was over 5.4 lakh while the total number of tests stood at over 1.02 crore.

The bulletin said 6,21,060 patients have recovered, been discharged or migrated so far.

The number of containment zones in Delhi dropped to 1,810 on Saturday from 1,836 the previous day, authorities said.

The number of people in home isolation dropped to 806 on Saturday from 825 the previous day.