Delhi Records 871 Coronavirus Cases, Fewest Deaths In 3 Months

Delhi reported less than 1,000 fresh cases of coronavirus for the third straight day today -- 871. The number of deaths over the last 24 hours -- 18 -- is the lowest recorded in the last three months.  The last time the 24-hour tally of deaths was this low was on September 8, when 19 deaths were reported.

The daily positivity rate has dropped to .99 per cent – lower than the national rate of 1.5 per cent.

Over the last 24 hours, 87,861 tests were conducted, around half of which were the more accurate RT-PCR tests. More than 42,000 Rapid Antigen tests and 45,816 RTPCR tests have been conducted in this period.

"There has been a significant decrease in the cases and deaths due to Corona, in Delhi.  This is quite reassuring," tweeted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, registering relief at the drop in cases after the huge spike over the festive season.   

"This is the result of the hard work of all the people of Delhi. Congratulations to all Delhiites.  But don't be lax, precautions should be continued," a rough translation of his Hindi tweet read.

The drop in 24-hour surge is in keeping with the national figures. The country recorded 23,950 fresh coronavirus cases and 333 deaths, data from the health ministry showed this morning.

The daily caseload was 22 per cent higher than yesterday's. With this, the total Covid case tally has crossed 1 crore and 99 thousand with 1.46 lakh deaths, shows data from the Union health ministry.

The drop comes amid fears of a new strain of the virus that has surfaced in the UK. The strain is 70 per cent more contagious, scientists have said.

The Centre has announced a ban on all flights from the UK till December 31.

Sources in the Delhi airport said six new passengers coming from the UK have tested positive. Five others had tested positive earlier, taking the total to 11.

Overall, 22 passengers from the UK have tested positive for Covid in various airports and genome sequencing tests are being conducted in six laboratories across the country to see if any of the patients are carrying the new strain. The results are yet to be announced.