BSS
  04 Sep 2021, 22:04

Delhi records zero death, 55 new cases of COVID-19; positivity rate rises to 0.08 pc

 
NEW DELHI, Sept 4, 2021 (BSS/PTI) Delhi did not report any death due to COVID-19 for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday while the number of new infections was 55 with a positivity rate of 0.08 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.      
 
After showing gradual fall, the number of cases has again risen, with Saturday's count being the highest in the last 15 days, data showed.      
 
The city's positivity rate also increased to 0.08 per cent.     
 
The new cases took the national capital's infection tally to 14,37,929. Over 14.12 lakh patients have recovered from the virus.         
 
The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi stood at 25,082. The national capital has not reported any death due to the coronavirus since Tuesday.         
 Saturday is also the 23rd time since the start of the second wave of the pandemic in the national capital that zero fatality has been reported in a day.         
On March 2 this year, the national capital had reported zero death due to the virus. On that day, the number of new infections stood at 217 and the positivity rate was 0.33 per cent.          
 
The second wave swept the city during April-May.        
 
According to the latest bulletin, A total of 70,303 tests -- 48,510 RT-PCR tests and 21,793 rapid antigen tests -- were conducted a day ago.    
 
The number of active cases decreased to 354 on Saturday from 362 a day before.          
The number of people under home isolation was 80 on Saturday while it was 83 a day before, and the number of containment zones slightly decreased to 128 from 131 on Friday, the bulletin said.        
 
 On Friday, 35 fresh cases were recorded as the positivity rate stood at 0.05 per cent, according to official figures.   
 
On Thursday, the daily case count stood at 39 with a positivity rate of 0.06 per cent.          
 
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had recently cautioned that the chances of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic were quite real, while he asserted that his government was preparing on a "war-footing" to combat it.        
 
 Delhi had been reeling under a brutal second wave of the pandemic that is sweeping the country, claiming a massive number of lives daily, and the oxygen supply shortage issue at various hospitals had added to the woes.      
 
Since April 19, both daily cases and single-day deaths count had been spiralling up, with over 28,000 cases and 277 deaths recorded on April 20; rising to 306 fatalities on April 22. On May 3, the city registered a record 448 deaths.       
 
However, the number of cases have shown a downward trend and the positivity rate too has been shrinking in the last several weeks. The number of deaths per day has also been showing a decline in the last several days.      
 
Delhi Health Minister Saturdar Jain last week had said that medical infrastructure was being ramped up and 37,000 beds dedicated for COVID-19 patients were being set up to tackle the anticipated third wave of the pandemic in the national capital.