Delhi records 494 Covid-19 cases, lowest in over seven months

Delhi on Saturday recorded 494 cases of coronavirus disease and 14 fresh fatalities, official health bulletin stated. So far, 6,26,448 people have tested positive for the viral contagion in the national capital. The city-state has also recorded 10,571 deaths due to the disease outbreak.

Marking a steady decline in cases since December 24, Delhi has seen cases between 400 and 800 after the state authorities ramped up efforts to control the infection spread in the last week.

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said on Saturday the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) will be provided free of cost to residents in the Capital as the day-long Covid-19 vaccination dry run began across the country. “Yes, medicines and treatment are being provided for free in Delhi, anyway,” Jain said when asked if the vaccine will be provided free of cost in the city, according to news agency ANI.

Delhi had recorded its highest single-day spike till date – 8,593 cases – on November 11 last year.

In a bid to prevent a surge in Covid-19 cases, Delhi had implemented night curfew in Delhi in view of New Year’s celebrations. Delhi’s health minister had said the Covid-19 situation is under control right now, but huge gatherings could spell trouble again, and therefore, the curfew has been imposed.

The national capital has also reported four new cases of the new Covid-19 strain which was first found in the UK. All four infected have been kept in a separate institutional isolation unit of the LNJP hospital premises.

On detecting the UK Covid-19 strain, Delhi had also issued to create separate institutional isolation facility in four private hospitals on payment basis, for international passengers who have travelled from or transited through the UK in the past four weeks ( November 25 to December 24) and tested positive.

These facilities are – Max Smart Super Specialty Hospital, Saket; Batra Hospital & Research Centre, Tughlakabad Institutional Area; Fortis Super Specialty Hospital, Vasant Kunj; and Sir Ganga Ram City Hospital.