New Delhi: The Coronavirus surge in Delhi continued to surpass the fresh infections in Mumbai as both cities reported 24,383 and 11,317 cases respectively on Friday.
While the number of fresh cases in the national capital was less than that of Thursday, the positivity rate increased.
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Delhi’s Positivity Rate Rises To 30.64%
According to health department data, Delhi on Friday reported 24,383 COVID-19 cases and 34 fatalities while the positivity rate surged to 30.64 per cent.
On Thursday, Delhi had reported 28,867 COVID-19 infections, the highest single-day spike since the beginning of the pandemic, and 31 deaths; the positivity rate stood at 29.21 per cent.
Delhi’s previous sharpest daily jump of 28,395 cases was recorded on April 20 last year.
According to the data cited by news agency PTI, Friday’s positivity rate is the highest since May 1, 2021, when it was 31.61 per cent.
On Wednesday, the national capital reported 40 deaths, the highest since June 10 last year, when 44 fatalities were logged.
Meanwhile, 2,529 patients are in hospitals and as many as 815 patients are on oxygen support, including 99 who are on a ventilator.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that while COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly in the national capital, there is no reason to worry as hospitalisation and death rates are quite low.
“There is no need for people to be concerned or to panic. From the perspective of the Delhi government, everything is in order. There is no shortage of hospital beds. There are also plenty of ICU beds available. We do not need to panic, but we must act responsibly. We are keeping an eye on the coronavirus situation,” he said, as quoted by PTI.
Health Minister Satyendar Jain has been saying that the hospitalisation rate in the national capital has stagnated, which indicates that the current wave of the pandemic has plateaued.
Meanwhile, CM Arvind Kejriwal asked people to be responsible and assured them that the government has made all preparations and enough hospital beds are available.
He also said that the restrictions imposed in view of the surge in coronavirus cases will only be tightened if necessary, “but if corona cases begin to decline, we will relax the restrictions.”
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Mumbai Reports Nine Deaths, Highest Since August 11, 2021
Mumbai on Friday reported 11,317 fresh COVID-19 cases, down 17.60 per cent from a day ago. Meanwhile, the nine fresh fatalities logged are highest since August 11, 2021.
Out of the new infections, 84 per cent of the patients were asymptomatic.
According to a bulletin by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the total number of active Coronavirus cases stood at 84,352 as of Friday evening.
With these additions, the city’s coronavirus tally jumped to 9,81,306, while the death toll climbed to 16,435.
On Thursday, Mumbai had reported 13,702 new COVID-19 cases, down 16.55 per cent from 16,420 infections registered a day ago, and six fresh fatalities.
On Wednesday, the daily cases in the financial capital had surged after witnessing a dip for four straight days.
Meanwhile, Mumbai’s active tally remained below the 1-lakh mark as it stood at 84,352 down from 95,123 the previous day.
Significantly, the daily COVID-19 cases were also less than the number of patients discharged in the last 24 hours. According to the bulletin, 22,073 patients were discharged on Friday, taking the tally of recovered cases to 8,77,884.
Mumbai has a coronavirus recovery rate of 89 per cent, the BMC bulletin stated.
The financial capital had logged the highest-ever 20,971 COVID-19 cases on January 7, 2022. The previous one-day high for Mumbai was 11,163 cases, registered on April 4, 2021, during the second wave of the COVID pandemic.
(With Agency Inputs)