COVID-19: Is Delhi beating the curve?

New Delhi, Aug 02: Delhi now stands at the 12th position among the various states and union territories in the country in terms of active cases of COVID-19, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Saturday.

People still need to be very vigilant and practice social distancing and hand hygiene norms, he said.

"Delhi now stands at the 12th position in the country. It was on the second position a month-and-a-half ago. The number of active cases in Delhi now stands at 10,705 (as on Friday)," Jain told reporters.

On July 25, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that Delhi's position had improved to eighth from second in terms of active cases in the country.

Jain said the doubling rate of cases in Delhi is around 50 days at present, while "it is probably 32 days on an average nationally".

To a question on the effectiveness of lockdown, he said cases rose even during the lockdown, so people have to be vigilant as the economy slowly opens up.

Asked about Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal's decision to not allow reopening of hotels and weekly bazaars under Unlock 3, Jain said it should be allowed.

"Nearby places where more cases are being reported, there it is being allowed. Cases in Delhi are slowly falling, but here it is not being allowed," he rued.

Jain said out of the total beds for COVID-19 patients, only 2,932 (as on Friday) are occupied, which is about 20 per cent of the total number of beds.

Delhi recorded 1,118 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday, taking its tally to over 1.36 lakh, while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 3,989, according to authorities.

The number of active cases in the national capital stood at 10,596, down from 10,705 on Friday.

On reports that civic bodies haven't cleared dues of 'gaushalas', Jain said, "From our side, all dues have been paid".

"But, the issue is, in the MCD, everything is done with corruption, and it has become a machinery to make money," he alleged.

Civic bodies have denied the accusations.