Delhi on Thursday recorded 5,475 new coronavirus (Covid-19) infections and 91 related deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the state health department bulletin. The total of 551,262 cases includes 38,734 active cases, more than 500,000 recoveries and 8,811 deaths, it added.
This is the second day in a row that daily deaths due to Covid-19 have remained below the 100 mark. On Wednesday, Delhi recorded 99 deaths, bringing the total number to more than 8,700. The coronavirus positivity rate rose to 8.65% on Thursday from 8.49% on Wednesday.
Official data indicated that the national capital recorded 2,364 deaths since October 28, when daily cases exceeded 5,000 for the first time. Experts attributed this increase in deaths due to late hospital admissions that led to cases that became critical, a shortage of ICU beds, and unfavorable weather and increasing levels of pollution.
State Health Minister Satyendar Jain said Wednesday that Delhi reported the population with the “lowest mortality per million” among India’s four metropolitan cities.
Meanwhile, a total of 63,266 tests have been performed in the last 24 hours comprising 28,897 RT-PCR tests and 34,369 rapid antigen tests, the bulletin showed.
Also read: The situation of Covid-19 in the capital is alarming, says the high court of Delhi
Jain noted Thursday that the testing capacity had reached saturation level, adding that labs were finding it difficult to publish the results of all RT-PCR tests in one day.
“The test has reached saturation level … A lot of people now say that they took the test only two or three days ago,” Jain told the PTI news agency.
(With PTI inputs)
.
