Delhi COVID-19 Update: Capital records 1,109 new Coronavirus cases, one fatality; positivity rate at 5.87%

Delhi logged 1,109 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 5.87 per cent and one fatality, according to data shared by the health department here on Wednesday.

Delhi had reported less than 1,000 single-day infections in the last two days.

Wednesday’s cases were detected out of 18,886 tests conducted the previous day.

With the fresh infections, Delhi’s case tally climbed to 19,34,009. The death toll due to the infection rose to 26,261.

On Tuesday, Delhi had recorded 874 fresh COVID-19 cases and four fatalities due to the infection, while the positivity rate was at 5.18 per cent.

The national capital reported 628 Covid cases and three deaths due to the viral disease on Monday, while the positivity rate was recorded at 8.06 per cent.

The health department had not issued a bulletin on Sunday.

On Saturday, the city saw six deaths due to Covid while the positivity rate was 7.8 per cent.

On Friday, the city logged 1,447 Covid cases and one death, while the positivity rate was 5.98 per cent.

Delhi had recorded 1,934 Covid cases and zero death on Thursday, while the positivity rate was 8.1 per cent.

Of the 9,497 beds for Covid patients in the city hospitals, only 273 are occupied, down from 292 a day ago, while the beds at Covid care centres and Covid health centres are lying vacant, the department said.

With a surge in the number of Covid cases in Delhi lately, hospitals have also been witnessing a slight increase in admissions, but most of the patients have co-morbid conditions, doctors say.

There are 4,325 active Covid cases in the capital, down from 4,482 a day ago.

A total of 2,958 patients are under home isolation, down from 3,354 a day ago.

The city has 383 Covid containment zones, down from 385 on Tuesday.

Delhi had logged 1,060 Covid cases on June 20, while the positivity rate was 10.09 per cent. This was the highest case positivity rate recorded in the capital since January 24, when 11.8 per cent of the people tested had turned out to be Covid positive.

Also, the single-day death toll of six was the highest since February 13, when 12 people had succumbed to the viral infection.

Delhi has also reported a few cases of BA.4 and BA.5 variants of Omicron, which are highly transmissible, but experts have said that there is no need to panic as they don’t cause severe infection.

Despite the rise in the positivity rate, the city government has not implemented the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) devised by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) since hospital admissions are low.

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

Experts have said people lowering their guard and travelling during the vacation season are the main reasons behind the latest upward trend in the number of coronavirus cases in Delhi.
The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Delhi had touched the record high of 28,867 on January 13, during the third wave of the pandemic.

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