Delhi records 923 new COVID-19 cases, 86% more than yesterday

New Delhi, Dec 29: Delhi logged 923 fresh coronavirus cases,an 86 per cent jump in cases from yesterday and the highest since May 30., according to health department data.

The DDMA on Wednesday decided that Covid-related restrictions imposed in Delhi under the 'yellow alert' will continue for the time being and authorities will monitor the situation for a while before deciding on fresh curbs, official sources said.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Lt Governor Anil Baijal, who is also the chairperson of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority. It was attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and experts.

A 'yellow alert' under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is in place in the city amid a spike in coronavirus cases following the emergence of the virus' Omicron variant.

The 'yellow alert' entails restrictions like night curfew, closure of schools and colleges, opening of shops selling non-essential items on an odd-even basis, halved seating capacity in Metro trains and buses, among other things.

The authorities are in favour of monitoring the situation for some more time and to avoid imposing further restrictions under 'amber alert', they said.

An 'amber alert' is declared when the positivity rate is recorded at one per cent or above for two consecutive days.

The positivity rate climbed to 1.29 per cent from 0.89 per cent on Tuesday. No fresh fatality was reported, the bulletin stated.

On May 30, Delhi had recorded 946 COVID-19 cases and 78 deaths with a positivity rate of 1.25 per cent. On Tuesday, the city saw 496 COVID-19 cases and one fatality due to the disease. There are 2,191 active cases in the national capital. Of these, 1,068 patients are in home isolation.

with PTI inputs