Delhi records 39 fresh Covid-19 cases, no death; positivity rate at 0.06%

No death due to COVID-19 was recorded in Delhi for the second consecutive day on Thursday, while 39 fresh cases of the infection were reported with a positivity rate of 0.06 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.

This is the 21st time since the second wave of the pandemic hit the national capital that zero fatality due to the viral disease was logged in a day.

No death due to Covid was recorded on July 18, July 24, July 29, August 2, August 4, August 8, August 11, August 12, August 13, August 16, August 20, August 21, August 22, August 23, August 24, August 26, August 27, August 28, August 29 and September 1 too.

Thirty-eight Covid patients were discharged in the last 24 hours.

On March 2, the national capital reported zero fatality due to the virus. The number of fresh cases was 217 and the positivity rate was 0.33 per cent.

The death toll due to the coronavirus infection stood at 25,082 on Tuesday in Delhi. The case fatality rate is 1.74 per cent.

The second wave of the pandemic swept through the city in April-May.

On Wednesday, 36 fresh cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 0.06 per cent, while no death was reported due to the infection.

The count of daily cases had dropped to 20 on August 30, when one death was recorded, according to official figures.

On Tuesday, 28 cases with a positivity rate of 0.05 per cent were recorded and one fatality was reported.

Despite the fall in the number of daily cases over the last several days, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had recently cautioned, saying the chances of a third wave of the pandemic are quite real, while asserting that his government is preparing on a "war-footing" to combat it.

Delhi was reeling under a brutal second wave of the pandemic that is sweeping through the country, claiming a massive number of lives daily, and an oxygen shortage at various city hospitals had added to the woes of people.

Since April 19, both the daily cases count and the number of single-day deaths were spiralling up, with over 28,000 cases and 277 deaths recorded on April 20, rising to 306 fatalities on April 22. On May 3, the city registered a record 448 deaths, according to official data.

However, the number of cases has shown a downward trend and the positivity rate too has been shrinking for several weeks. The number of deaths per day has also been showing a decline for several days.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had last week said the city's medical infrastructure was being ramped up and 37,000 beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients were being set up to tackle the anticipated third wave of the pandemic.

A total of 60,483 tests, including 42,669 RT-PCR tests and 17,814 rapid-antigen tests, were conducted a day ago, according to the health bulletin issued on Thursday.

The number of cumulative cases in the national capital stood at 14,37,839 on Wednesday. Over 14.12 lakh patients have recovered from the virus.

The number of active cases increased to 344 on Thursday from 343 a day before, according to the bulletin.

The number of people under home isolation was 86 on Wednesday while it was 80 on Thursday, and the number of containment zones stood at 141, same as the previous day.

Of the 12,004 hospital beds for Covid patients, only 223 are occupied.

According to the bulletin, a cumulative number of 1,36,16,193 beneficiaries have been vaccinated against the viral disease in Delhi till now. As many as 38,94,472 beneficiaries have received both doses of the vaccine.