Delhi records 20,960 fresh Covid-19 infections, positivity rate at 26.37%

The hospitals in Delhi have been reporting shortage of oxygen supplies, beds and essential medicines as the health infrastructure continues to crumble under the pressure of the unprecedented rise in the number of Covid-19 patients requiring oxygen or ICU support.

Delhi reported 20,960 new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases on Wednesday and 311 related fatalities which pushed the total number of cases in the city to 1,253,902 and the death toll to 18,063. The positivity rate, which is a measure of the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those who have been tested overall, stood at 26.37 per cent, according to the state health bulletin. Within the same period, 79,491 tests were conducted and the active cases in the city now stand at 91,859.

A health worker in PPE carrying an a oxygen cylinder at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital, in New Delhi, India. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

The total number of recoveries in the national capital stood at 1,143,980 as 19,209 patients recovered from the virus during the period. The number of containment zones in the city rose to 47,704 from 44,052 the previous day, the bulletin showed.

On Monday, Delhi recorded 19,953 new Covid-19 and 338 deaths while the positivity rate stood at 26.73 per cent.

Delhi is currently under lockdown till May 10 during which only essential activities are allowed. These include sale and supply of food items, groceries, medicines, movement of health care workers, frontline workers, government staff, judicial officials, journalists and those seeking medical care.

The hospitals in the city have been reporting shortage of oxygen supplies, beds and essential medicines as the health infrastructure continues to crumble under the pressure of the unprecedented rise in the number of Covid-19 patients requiring oxygen or ICU support.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced free ration to all beneficiaries and also extended financial help of ₹5,000 to auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers who have been affected by the lockdown imposed in the national capital.

India on Wednesday recorded 382,315 fresh Covid-19 cases which pushed the nationwide infection tally to 20,665,148. 3,780 new fatalities were recorded in the same duration which pushed the death toll to 226,188, according to the Union health ministry's dashboard at 8am. The number of active cases in the country currently stands at 3,487,229, comprising 17% of the total confirmed cases. As many as 338,439 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours with which the total number of recoveries stood at 16,951,731.