Delhi records 1,042 fresh Covid cases, positivity rate at 4.64 per cent

New Delhi, Apr 22: Delhi logged 1,042 fresh COVID-19 cases in a day with a positivity rate of 4.64 per cent while two people died due to the infection, according to data shared by the city health department on Friday.

However, the hospitalisation rate has so far been low, accounting for less than three per cent of the total active cases, as per the data. In the wake of rising cases, the Delhi government had on Wednesday made the wearing of masks mandatory in public places and announced a fine of Rs 500 for its violation.

It had lifted the fine for not wearing a mask on April 12 because of the decline in cases. The city health department said on Thursday Delhi has started providing free COVID-19 precautionary dose to beneficiaries in the 18-59 age group at government vaccination centres.

The Delhi government on Friday issued a Standard Operating Procedure to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in schools. In detailed Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the schools, the schools in the state have been asked to conduct a daily symptoms check, use thermal scanning as well as hand sanitization on a daily basis among various other measures.

Delhi has also started genome sequencing of samples of all Covid infected people in the capital to ascertain if a new variant, such as the XE, has spread in the city.