Delhi logs over 1,300 Covid-19 cases for second consecutive day, positivity rate 6.69%

Delhi recorded 1,323 new Covid cases and two deaths on Thursday, while the positivity rate stood at 6.69 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here.

This is the second consecutive day that Delhi has recorded over 1,300 cases in a day. And, it logged more than 1,000 daily cases for the third day on the trot.

With the fresh cases, Delhi’s tally of COVID-19 cases increased to 19,17,228 while the death toll rose to 26,225, the department said in its latest bulletin.

The national capital had recorded 1,375 new Covid cases on Wednesday, the highest since May 8, while the positivity rate rose to 7.01 per cent.

Delhi had reported 1,422 fresh COVID-19 cases and zero fatality on May 8, while the positivity rate was recorded at 5.34 per cent.

The city on May 1 had reported 1,485 fresh Covid-19 cases and zero fatality due to the viral disease, while the positivity rate was recorded at 4.89 per cent, according to official data.

Despite the rise in the positivity rate, the Delhi government is not implementing graded response action plan (GRAP) devised by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority since the hospital admissions are low.

The GRAP came into force in August last year, stipulating measures to be taken by the government as per positivity rate and bed occupancy for locking and unlocking of various activities.

Out of 9,582 hospital beds, 182 are occupied, up from 169 the previous day, while none of the beds at Covid Care Centres and Covid Health Centres are occupied.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Delhi increased to 3,948 from 3,643 on Wednesday, the bulletin said.

As many as 2,460 patients are under home isolation, up from 2,108 the previous day, it said, adding that there are 209 containment zones in the city, up from 199 on Wednesday.

More than 7,100 coronavirus cases have been reported in Delhi in the last 10 days as doctors and other medical experts cautioned people to not lower the guard and follow all Covid-appropriate behaviour.

Amid a spike in daily cases, the positivity rate too has climbed from 1.92 per cent registered on June 7 to 7.01 per cent on June 15, according to official figures.

The number of COVID-19 cases have registered a steady rise in the last 10 days, as the daily tally mounted to over 1,300 on June 15 from 247 on June 6, totalling 7,175 cases in this period, according to official data shared by the city health department.

The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Delhi had touched the record high of 28,867 on January 13 this year during the third wave of the pandemic.

The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the third wave of the pandemic.

Experts have said people lowering their guard and travelling during the vacation season are the main reasons behind the latest uptick in coronavirus cases in Delhi.