Delhi sees record 8,593 new Covid-19 cases in a single day

Covid-19 cases and deaths are increasing in the capital with the daily numbers nearing the 9,000-mark for cases and crossing the 100-mark for deaths even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed hope that the situation should come under control in the next seven to 10 days.

On Wednesday, the national capital breached the 8,000-mark to touch 8,593, the highest for a single day, while the next day, cases dropped to 7,053 but the daily death toll crossed 100-mark to touch 104.

Read | Delhi's Covid-19 surge a new worry for Centre

Altogether, Delhi has 4,67,028 Covid-19 cases as on Thursday while the cumulative death toll has touched 7,332.

Officials attribute the rise in numbers to festival season during which there is a greater movement of people. During a review meeting earlier this month, Delhi government officials told the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), "the recent surge in the number of active cases was attributed to the festival season, which has witnessed greater movement of people, accompanied by laxity in adhering to the basic principles of safe Covid-19 behaviour."

One of the worrying signs for the capital is the surge in positivity rate. On Thursday, it clocked 11.71% while it had breached 12% mark earlier.

Another troubling sign is an increase in daily deaths. While Thursday saw 104 deaths, the capital has been witnessing a large number of Covid-19 deaths.

While the city had witnessed 93 deaths on June 16, some of these took place days earlier and added to the toll on that day after cross-checking, only to come down below 50 later, the numbers have risen the past couple of weeks.

On November 7, the death toll was 79 while it was 77 and 71 respectively in the next two days.

Kejriwal said pollution was the "biggest" reason behind the spike in coronavirus cases in the city while emphasising that the situation was under control till October 20.

"Covid-19 cases have been increasing for the last few days. I am also concerned about it. We have been taking all appropriate measures to control it. We are considering taking more steps next week. I think the situation should come under control in 7 to 10 days and the cases should start decreasing," he said.

The number of active cases of coronavirus infection rose to 43,116 on Thursday from 42,629 the previous day while the recovery rate was over 89%.