Coronavirus Cases, Delhi: Nearly 20,000 COVID-19 cases reported from Delhi (File)
Over 1,000 novel coronavirus cases have been reported from Delhi for a fourth consecutive day, with 1,295 fresh infections detected in the past 24 hours. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the national capital is now 19,844, with 473 deaths linked to the virus. Thirteen of those deaths were reported in the preceding 24 hours.
Also in the last 24 hours, 416 people were discharged after receiving treatment, taking the total number of those who have fought off the illness to 8,478.
Delhi remains the third worst-affected state by the coronavirus pandemic; only Maharashtra (65,168 cases and 2,197 deaths) and Tamil Nadu (21,184 cases and 160 deaths) have more confirmed COVID-19 cases.
On Saturday Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told the media his government was "four steps ahead of the coronavirus". Mr Kejriwal said that although he was concerned about the spike in cases, residents of the city "should not panic".
Delhi's ruling AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) has arranged for 2,900 additional beds for COVID-19 patients, the Chief Minister added. These will be available in a week.
Last week private hospitals in Delhi were asked to reserve 20 per cent of their beds for COVID-19 patients, as the national capital looks to contain the increase in cases.
COVID-19 Cases: Delhi has 122 coronavirus containment zones (File)
The Chief Minister also repeated his assertion that Delhi would have to learn to live with the novel coronavirus, at least until a viable vaccine had been produced.
"A permanent lockdown is no solution. We have to move on with all precautions. We are making plenty of arrangements that are much more than the requirements," he said.
On Saturday the centre extended the nationwide lockdown to June 30. It also announced a three-stage plan to further increase relaxations in non-containment zones, of which Delhi has 122, including re-opening restaurants, malls and places of worship from June 8.
The Delhi government is expected to announce lockdown rules and relaxations for its territory later today, with many of those aligning with the centre's guidelines.
The worrying spike in coronavirus cases in the national capital comes amid a similar surge in national numbers; over 8,000 new cases were reported in 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed this morning.
The total number of cases in India is nearly 1.82 lakh. 5,164 deaths have been reported.