Delhi reports first Covid deaths after 21 days, active caseload at 371

Last month, only four fatalities were recorded in Delhi, which was the lowest monthly death toll that the national capital had witnessed since the pandemic hit in March 2020.

Delhi on Friday reported the first fatalities due to coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in November after two people succumbed to the infection. With this, the national capital’s streak of not registering any Covid-related death for 21 days straight came to an end.

The cumulative Covid-19 case count of Delhi currently stands at 14,40,332. (ANI File Photo)

The last time the city logged a death due to the virus was on October 22. The death toll of Delhi now stands at 25,093, according to updated data on the government’s health bulletin.

Covid-19 deaths in the national capital have been on a downward swing since September, with only five fatalities being reported in the month, followed by four in October. Also, the four deaths last month were the lowest monthly toll that Delhi witnessed since the pandemic struck in March 2020.

Meanwhile, the daily caseload of 62 infections on Friday was a marginal rise from Thursday’s tally when 40 cases were reported. The cumulative case count of the city currently stands at 14,40,332.

Also, 56 new recoveries have pushed the total number of recovered cases in Delhi to 14,14,868. The case positivity rate of the city, which improved to 4.81 per cent on Thursday from Wednesday’s 4.82 per cent, remained unchanged on Friday. The active caseload in Delhi is 371.

As far as vaccinations are concerned, as many as 2,10,47,291 eligible beneficiaries have been inoculated with jabs so far, of which, 81,035 were administered the shots in the last 24 hours.

Of the total vaccinated individuals, 1,32,49,323 have received the first dose and the remaining 77,97,968 have been jabbed with the second shot as well, the health bulletin data showed.

The news may come as a respite since Delhi has been battling ‘severe’ category air quality since Diwali when the blanket ban on bursting of firecrackers went for a toss. The situation, though saw slight improvement a few days after the festivities came to an end, has come back to ‘severe’ levels owing to stubble burning and smoggy conditions.

According to a PTI report, authorities have advised Delhiites to regulate their outdoor activities and also informed government and private offices to cut down vehicle emissions by at least 30 per cent as the air quality index (AQI) in the national capital moved closer to the ‘emergency’ level.