Delhi’s daily Covid tally surges again with 1,042 new cases, 2 more deaths added

Delhi’s daily Covid-19 tally crossed the 1,000-mark again on Friday after 1,042 infections were recorded, pushing the caseload to 18,72,699, according to the health department’s bulletin. Two more patients succumbed to the virus on Friday and the toll is over 26,100.

The overall recoveries, meanwhile, have climbed to 18,43,282 after 757 patients were discharged on Friday. The active cases in the national capital have climbed to 3,253, compared to 2,970 on Thursday.

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On Thursday, Delhi had recorded 965 cases, 635 recoveries and one death.

As many as 22,442 samples were tested for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, including 9,273 rapid antigen tests and 13,169 RT-PCR/CBNAAT/True Nat tests.

The number of patients under home isolation has breached 2,000 and those in hospitals stand at 68, the health department’s bulletin also showed.

Friday’s Covid-19 positivity rate has slightly dropped to 4.64% and the overall positivity rate is at 4.97%. On the other hand, the overall case fatality rate stands at 1.4%.

Amid a surge in Delhi’s daily Covid-19 tally in recent days, the government brought back the mandatory wearing of masks at public places with immediate effect. Those violating this rule will have to pay a fine of ₹500.

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However, the government said in an order on Friday that the fine will not apply to people travelling together in private four-wheeler vehicles.

As the order did not mention whether people travelling in hired cabs and taxis are required to wear masks, a senior government official told news agency PTI on Friday that they are not exempt.

The government on Friday also introduced standard operating procedures (SOPs) for schools. Some of these SOPs include thermal scanning of students, staff and outsiders at the main gate; mandatory hand sanitisation at school entrances, classrooms, and labs among others. The SOPs also said that parents should not send their children to school if any family member shows any symptoms of Covid-19.