Delhi on Wednesday registered eight deaths due to Covid-19, the highest figure in nearly six months, PTI reported.
The daily test positivity rate in the capital was 17.83%. On Sunday, the test positivity rate in the city was 17.85%, the highest since January 21.
Delhi reported 2,146 new cases on Wednesday, a decrease of 13.98% from the previous day’s figure of 2,495 cases.
A total of 536 Covid-19 patients are currently in hospitals, out of whom 161 are in intensive care units, according to ANI. Out of the total beds in dedicated coronavirus hospitals in the city, 5.7% are occupied.
Delhi currently has 8,205 active Covid-19 cases and 2,439 persons recovered from the disease in the past 24 hours.
Coronavirus cases had declined in Delhi after the Omicron wave waned in February, but had started increasing again in April. The national capital reported fluctuations in the number of infections in May and June, but cases have been on a rising trajectory since late July.
In the first 10 days of August, Delhi registered 40 deaths due to the coronavirus, PTI reported. This was more than a two-fold increase from the last 10 days of July, when 14 persons died of the disease.
On Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that coronavirus cases were increasing, but there was no need for panic, according to ANI. “Most cases are with mild symptoms,” he had said. “We will take any action necessary.”
Mandatory mask rule and fines back in Delhi
The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government has once again made it compulsory to wear masks in public places, News 18 reported on Thursday. A fine of Rs 500 will be imposed on violators, a government directive has said.
The penalty, however, is not applicable to persons travelling in a private four-wheeler vehicle in the national capital, the department of health and family welfare said.
On March 31, the Delhi government had lifted the mask mandate after the number of coronavirus cases dipped in the city. However, it was again mandated in April after cases surged in the city.
Spike in cases in Mumbai
Coronavirus cases increased sharply in Mumbai on Wednesday, as the metropolis registered 852 new infections. This constituted a rise of nearly 79% (78.99%) as compared to Wednesday’s figure of 476 cases.
The case count on Wednesday was the highest since July 1, when the city had recorded 978 cases. Covid-19 cases had been declining in Mumbai for most of July, before rising again towards the end of the month.
One person died due to the coronavirus in the city in the past 24 hours, and the recovery rate is 97.9%.
Out of the total number of coronavirus beds, 1.21% are occupied. Of the 852 cases recorded on Wednesday, 816 were asymptomatic, the city civic body said.
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