871 coronavirus cases and 18 deaths were recorded in Delhi during the past 24 hours.
New Delhi:
Delhi reported fewer than 1,000 new coronavirus cases for the third day in a row today – 871. The number of deaths in the past 24 hours – 18 – is the lowest on record in the past three months. The last time the 24-hour death count was this low was on September 8, when 19 deaths were reported.
The daily positivity rate has dropped to 0.9%, lower than the national rate of 1.5%.
During the past 24 hours, 87,861 tests were performed, about half of which were more accurate RT-PCR tests. In this period, more than 42,000 Rapid Antigen tests and 45,816 RTPCR tests have been performed.
“There has been a significant decrease in cases and deaths due to Corona, in Delhi. This is quite reassuring,” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, recording relief from the drop in cases after the huge increase during the holiday season.
“This is the result of the hard work of all the people of Delhi. Congratulations to all the inhabitants of Delhi. But do not be negligent, precautions must continue,” read a rough translation of his Hindi tweet.
The drop in the 24-hour increase is in line with national figures. The country registered 23,950 new cases of coronavirus and 333 deaths, data from the Ministry of Health showed this morning.
The number of daily cases was 22% higher than yesterday. With this, the total count of Covid cases has crossed 1 crore and 99 thousand with 1.46 lakh of deaths, shows data from the Union Ministry of Health.
The drop comes amid fears of a new strain of the virus that has appeared in the UK. The strain is 70 percent more contagious, scientists have said.
The Center has announced a ban on all flights from the UK until December 31.
Sources at Delhi airport said six new passengers from the UK tested positive. Five others had tested positive before, bringing the total to 11.
In total, 22 UK passengers tested positive for Covid at various airports and genome sequencing tests are underway in six labs across the country to see if any of the patients are carriers of the new strain. The results have yet to be announced.
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