Delhi reports 623 new COVID-19 cases and 62 deaths; positivity rate dips to 0.88%

New Delhi: The trend of declining cases of Covid-19 continued in Delhi on Tuesday as the national capital recorded 623 new cases of the infection in the last 24 hours, according to state government's health bulletin. This took the total number of cases in Delhi to 14,26,863. Sixty-two fatalities were also reported in the said period, after which the death toll reached 24,299, the bulletin futher showed.

The positivity rate in the national capital stood at 0.88 per cent - the second consecutive day when it stayed below 1%.

The daily tally of cases has been steadily declining in the national capital - 946 cases had been reported on Sunday, and 648 on Monday, the lowest since March 19.

A total of 70,813 samples were tested for Covid-19 on Tuesday, according to state government's data. This also marks an increase in the number of samples tested, with only 65,240 samples being tested on Monday. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the positivity rate should remain below 5% for at least two weeks before an outbreak can be considered to be under control. Delhi’s positivity rate has remained below this mark for 12 days now.

Tuesday also witnessed a further decrease in hospitalisation for the second time in 53 days as it dropped below the 5,000-mark. Currently 4,405 beds are occupied at hospitals across Delhi and 20,347 beds remain vacant. Out of the 6,332 beds at Covid care centres only 176 are occupied by recuperating patients, according to the state’s health bulletin.