Delhi reported 1,141 new coronavirus cases today and 139 deaths in the last 24 hours - a steady decline in the past few days - as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the capital will start gradually unlocking from Monday.
Active cases in the city went down below 15,000 - the lowest since April 4. The positivity rate is at a low of 1.59 per cent.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Covid positivity rate below 5 per cent to be within the safe zone. Experts have said that the dip in cases can be attributed to the lockdown in the capital which will be in place till 5 am on May 31. Mr Kejriwal had announced a lockdown on April 19 after the city recorded over a lakh cases five days in a row till then.
"In the past 24 hours, the positivity rate has been around 1.5 per cent with only 1,100 new cases being reported. This is the time to unlock lest people escape corona only to die of hunger," Mr Kejriwal said as he announced easing of restrictions.
The capital bore the brunt of the second wave of the deadly virus as it swept the country last month. Delhi ran out of supplies and the medical infrastructure collapsed even as patients poured into hospitals - many dying due to lack of oxygen or even a bed.
Devastating photographs surfaced of helpless families running from pillar to post, the desperation of people made headlines across the world. As deaths increased in the capital, crematoriums faced immense pressure. Delhi residents turned to makeshift facilities undertaking mass burials and cremations for the last rites of their dead.
Delhi has till now recorded over 14.23 lakh Covid cases and 23,951 deaths since the outbreak in early 2020.
The recovery rate is now at 97.29 per cent and the death rate at 1.68 per cent.
Around 2,800 patients recovered in the last day taking the total number of recoveries to over 13.85 lakh.
Over 71,000 Covid tests were conducted in the last 24 hours in Delhi.
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