Delhi on Saturday registered 813 new coronavirus cases, the highest this year, taking the city’s overall count to 6,47,161. Two more deaths pushed the toll to 10,955. A total of 567 recoveries were recorded in 24 hours and the number of active cases stood at 3,409.
Delhi, like several other cities in the country, has witnessed a steady rise in cases over the last few days. The city reported 716 and 607 cases on Friday and Thursday, respectively.
On Friday, authorities had announced that all hospitals in the city will continue vaccination processes till 9 pm beginning from March 22, in view of the sudden surge in infections. Before that, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had urged the Centre to allow the inoculation of all citizens above 18 in the Capital. Kejriwal claimed that his government could vaccinate everyone in Delhi in three months if given the required permission.
Besides Delhi, other states showing rising trajectory of daily new cases are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana. A government panel has found in its preliminary assessment that super-spreader events like weddings seem to be responsible for the sharp increase in cases in the country.
The Centre, meanwhile, said the surge in cases was largely because people were not strictly observing safety norms, and directed state governments to address this problem. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, in his letter to the chief secretaries of the states, directed them to strictly enforce Covid-appropriate behaviour like wearing masks and maintaining adequate distance from others, keeping in mind the resurgence of infections and upcoming festivals.
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Covid-19: India records 40,953 cases after almost 4 months, Nagpur extends lockdown till March 31
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