Delhi on Thursday recorded 107 deaths due to Covid-19, the highest since the pandemic broke out, bringing the cumulative death toll to 7,332. In the third ongoing wave of infection, the capital has been adding 70 to 80 deaths per day on average. This is the first time that the toll exceeded 100 points. Even in June-July, when the capital was under the control of the first wave, the maximum number of deaths did not exceed 95. On June 16, 93 people died from Covid-19.
In the past 24 hours, Delhi recorded 7,053 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, a day after its daily Covid-19 count surpassed the 8,000 mark. While the number of new infections reported Thursday was less than Wednesday, the number of people being tested also decreased. 64,121 tests were conducted on Wednesday, according to the government bulletin. On Thursday, 60,229 tests were carried out. The positivity rate in Delhi is now 11.71 percent. More than 26,000 people are now in home isolation.
Delhi has seen an increase in the number of cases with the onset of winter and pollution since the last week of October. The ongoing holiday season has added to this as social distancing norms are flouted and markets have almost returned to their pre-Covid bustle.
On Thursday, the Delhi High Court allowed the AAP government to reserve 80 percent of beds in private hospital intensive care units for Covid-19 patients. A court of judges Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad said that the situation in the national capital is quite dynamic and that the state has to be “much more alive” to the circumstances. He also noted that the government is doing everything possible to “unlock things.”
“Eighty to ninety percent of the cases are recovered at home. Our home isolation policy was a successful model and if it had not been implemented it would not have been possible to handle such a massive increase in Covid-19 cases that we are seeing today, ”said Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain.
.
