Fewest single-day Covid deaths in Delhi since early-September, govt data shows

New Delhi: The national capital on Sunday added the fewest single-day Covid-19 deaths in 114 days, with the state government’s daily health bulletin recording 16

New Delhi: The national capital on Sunday added the fewest single-day Covid-19 deaths in 114 days, with the state government’s daily health bulletin recording 16 new fatalities on the day, as the infection’s curve continued its downward trend from the severe spike in cases and deaths in November — the height of the “third wave” of the disease in Delhi.

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Before Sunday, the least deaths of the infectious disease the Capital had added in one day was on September 4 — when it recorded 13 fatalities.

Further, as the city added 757 new cases of Covid-19, the seven-day average of daily infections fell its lowest since May 30. In the seven days ending Sunday, Delhi had added a daily average of 835 cases. In comparison, this number peaked at 7,341 on November 14, when the city was grappling with the strongest wave of infections, with new infections and daily deaths touching new highs during the festive period.

In what experts regarded as more good news in the city’s fight against the illness, the test positivity rate — the percentage of samples that test positive among all samples collected — continued to hover around the 1%-mark.

Experts view the positivity rate as a crucial metric to gauge the spread of an infection, and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a number below 5% for two weeks for a region with a comprehensive testing programme.

On Sunday, 75,210 tests were conducted, and 40,742 of these used the more accurate reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, which is more reliable than the alternate rapid antigen test.

The Capital has collected a daily average of 80,581 samples for Covid-19 tests over the past two weeks.

There are currently 6,713 active Covid-19 cases in the city, down from sharply 10,148 on December 20.