COVID-19: Delhi records one death, 33 new cases

Delhi recorded one death due to COVID-19 and 33 fresh cases at a positivity rate of 0.04 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department on Friday.

This is the third fatality due to coronavirus infection reported this month after one each on September 7 and September 16, according to official figures.

The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi has increased to 25,085.

On Friday, 33 cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 0.04 per cent, the bulletin said.

Also, 22 positive cases pertaining to previous weeks were added on the ICMR portal on Thursday, it said.

The number of cumulative cases on Friday stood at 14,38,428. Over 14.12 lakh patients have recovered from the virus.

A total of 72,099 tests -- 52,181 RT-PCR tests and 21,918 rapid antigen tests -- were conducted a day ago, the bulletin said.

On Thursday, 28 cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 0.04 per cent.

On Wednesday, 57 cases were logged with a positivity rate of 0.08 per cent, according to official data.

The daily case count had dropped to 17 on September 13, with no death being recorded, while the positivity rate stood at 0.04 per cent, according to official figures.

Despite the fall in daily cases in the last several days, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had recently cautioned that the chances of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic were quite real, while he asserted that his government was preparing on a ''war-footing'' to combat it.

Delhi had been reeling under a brutal second wave of the pandemic that is sweeping the country, claiming a large number of lives daily, and the oxygen supply shortage issue at various hospitals had added to the woes.

Since April 19, both daily cases and death count had been spiralling up, with over 28,000 cases and 277 deaths recorded on April 20; rising to 306 fatalities on April 22. On May 3, the city registered a record 448 deaths, as per the official data.

However, the number of cases has shown a downward trend and the positivity rate too has been shrinking in the last several weeks. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain recently had said that medical infrastructure was being ramped up and 37,000 beds dedicated for COVID-19 patients were being set up to tackle the anticipated third wave of the pandemic in the national capital.

The number of active cases decreased to 407 on Friday from 409 a day before, according to the latest bulletin.

The number of people under home isolation was 109 on Friday while it was 110 a day before, and the number of containment zones slightly rose to 96 on Friday from 94 on Thursday, the bulletin said.