New Delhi: Delhi on Sunday reported 517 fresh COVID-19 cases, 261 recoveries, and zero deaths in the last 24 hours while the number of active cases is 1518.
On Saturday, the city logged 461 cases with a positivity rate of 5.33 per cent, while two deaths were also reported. On Friday, Delhi had recorded 366 cases. Before this, the city had reported a positivity rate of 5.09 per cent on February 1, while on January 31; the figure was 6.2 per cent. The COVID-19 positivity rate in the national capital has jumped from 0.5 per cent to 5.33 per cent in two weeks.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, India reported 1,150 fresh COVID-19 cases in a day, a rise from the previous day’s count of 975, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Affairs on Sunday morning. The death toll climbed to 5,21,751 with four fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
In the intervening time, the number of India’s active caseload has risen to 11,558 which is 0.03 per cent of the country’s total positive cases. A total of 954 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients since the beginning of the pandemic is now at 4,25,08,788.
According to a survey, as the threat of the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic looms wide, the number of people in Delhi-NCR reporting their close acquaintances getting infected by COVID-19 has risen by 500% in the last 15 days.
Doctors in the national capital on Sunday urged the authorities to make the wearing of masks mandatory to help check the spread of the viral infection. They also asked people developing coronavirus-like symptoms to get themselves tested and isolate themselves to prevent the spread.
Doctors at leading government and private hospitals emphasised that there was a need to increase testing in the wake of the spike in cases, even as they said that “no drastic restrictions” were needed as of now.
“People who are developing symptoms are not going for COVID-19 test, largely. Now, with a surge in cases and the positivity rate beyond five per cent again, I would urge people to go for testing if they are having symptoms. Even those going for home isolation should go for testing,” said a senior doctor at Delhi’s LNJP Hospital.
The Delhi government had on April 2 stopped the imposition of fines for not wearing masks.
Dr Ritu Saxena, who heads the emergency department at the Delhi government’s largest facility and a key COVID-19 hospital here, said that large gatherings should now be avoided and people should wear masks and follow COVID-appropriate behaviour.
