Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on Sunday reported their biggest single-day jump in coronavirus cases since the start of the since the pandemic last March. This comes as India’s daily infections rose by a record for the sixth time this week.
Delhi recorded 10,774 new cases, taking its tally to 7,25,197, according to a health bulletin released by the government. With 48 deaths, the toll since the pandemic broke out rose to 11,283.
The bulletin said that over 1.14 lakh tests were conducted the previous day. The positivity rate, which is the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been tested, stood at 9.43%. On Saturday, the positivity rate had breached the 10%-mark for the first time.
The previous highest single-day rise in Delhi – 8,593 cases – was reported on November 11 last year.
More than 6.79 lakh patients have recovered from the infection. The number of active cases rose to 34,341 from 28,773 a day before.
The number of people under home isolation increased to 17,093 from 15,266 on Saturday, while the number of containment zones jumped to 5,705 from 5,236.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had warned that the fourth wave of the pandemic in the Capital was “extremely dangerous”. He again urged the Centre to allow all adults to get vaccinated.
On Saturday, the Delhi government introduced new coronavirus-related restrictions such as limiting the number of people at bars and restaurants and banning most public gatherings. Restaurants, movie halls and bars in the city will be allowed to operate with 50% of their seating capacity. Metro trains and buses will also run at 50% of their seating capacity.
Uttar Pradesh
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh on Sunday reported 15,353 new infections, PTI reported. This took the state’s total count to 6,92,015 since the start of the pandemic last year. The active caseload stood at 71,241.
The toll rose by 67 to 9,152. State capital Lucknow reported 31 deaths, followed by nine in Allahabad, eight in Kanpur, two each in Gorakhpur, Muzaffarnagar and Chandauli and one each in Varanasi, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Ballia, Ayodhya, Lakhimpur-Khiri, Jaunpur, Deoria, Rae Bareli, Ghazipur, Rampur, Basti and Kannauj, the government said.
Lucknow also recorded 4,444 cases, the highest among others. This was followed by 1,740 cases in Varanasi, 1,565 in Allahabad and 881 in Kanpur.
The government said 6,11,622 patients in the state have recovered from the infection.
Earlier in the day, the Uttar Pradesh government had announced a night curfew in districts that are reporting a surge in coronavirus cases and the closure of all schools in the state. The new restrictions, which were decided at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Adityanath, will be in place till April 30.
The second surge in infections, which has spread much more rapidly than the first one that peaked in September, has forced many states to impose local restrictions.
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