Delhi adds 1,568 new Covid cases, 156 deaths; positivity rate drops to 2.14%

As many as 4,251 people recovered from the coronavirus disease on Tuesday and the total recoveries in the national capital have climbed to 1,374,682 while active cases have come down to 21,739, the health department's bulletin showed.

Delhi on Tuesday registered 1,568 new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and 156 more fatalities, taking the Capital’s caseload and death toll to 1,419,986 and 23,565 respectively, according to the health department’s bulletin. As many as 4251 people recovered from the coronavirus disease on Tuesday and the total recoveries in the national capital have climbed to 1,374,682 while active cases have come down to 21,739, the bulletin also showed.

Health workers attend to a Covid-19 patient in New Delhi. (PTI file photo)

The Covid-19 positivity rate in Delhi has further declined to 2.14%. Tuesday’s case count in Delhi has been the lowest since March 31, when 1819 people tested Covid-19 positive. The new cases on Tuesday are 18 less than that on Monday, when 1568 infections were recorded—the lowest single-day addition since March 30.

The health department’s bulletin showed 73,406 tests were conducted on Tuesday of which 47,494 are RT-PCR/CBNAAT/TrueNat tests while the remaining 25,912 are rapid antigen tests. Nearly 12,000 Covid-19 patients continue to remain under home isolation and the containment zones have come down to 39,640.

Even though the Covid-19 graph has been declining in Delhi since the beginning of May, the national capital is currently struggling with cases of mucormycosis, commonly known as black fungus. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday that there are 500 cases of mucormycosis in the Capital and Delhi is currently facing a shortage of Amphotericin-B injections, which is used for treating the fatal disease. Delhi, unlike other states and Union Territories (UTs) in the country, has not yet declared mucormycosis as an epidemic.

The Aam Aadmi Party-led government has designated three hospitals—Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP), Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (GTB) and Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital—for treatment of patients infected with black fungus.

“However, these hospitals do not have sufficient injections to treat patients,” Kejriwal said while addressing reporters on Monday and added Delhi needs 2000 injections of Amphotericin-B daily but the Centre has only allotted 400-500.

With regard to vaccination, over 5.14 million beneficiaries have been administered vaccine doses so far. Amid an acute shortage of doses, Delhi has currently suspended vaccination for those between 18-44 years of age.