Covid-19 figures shattered all records in the national capital on Wednesday as it reported a record 8,593 new cases. This is the highest ever single-day tally since the pandemic struck the city. With this, the overall Covid tally has reached 4,59,975 while the cumulative causality stood at 7,228. In total, 64,121 tests were performed in the national capital in the last 24 hours.
According to Delhi government data, as many as 7,264 people recovered and 85 died in the last 24 hours. Till now, 4,10,118 people have recovered, 42,629 people have active infection. The case fatality rate stands at 1.57 per cent.
Currently, 8,497 out of 16,511 beds are occupied in the hospitals, 825 out of 8,217 beds in the dedicated Covid Care Centres and 279 out of 527 beds in the dedicated Covid Health Centres. Over 24,435 people are in home isolation. The number of containment zones has been raised to 4,016.
The spike comes on a day the Arvind Kejriwal government was pulled up by the Delhi High Court, which asked the government its action taken over the last two weeks to control the contagion. Observing that a city is now witnessing a bigger daily spike than big states like Maharashtra and Kerala, the court asked if the government has any concrete plan to control the situation.
The court said while other states are imposing restrictions, the Delhi government is relaxing all norms, allowing 200 people to attend public functions instead of reducing the number and permitting public transport to be fully occupied. The court said that these could turn into “super spreaders” of the infection.
The Delhi government said it is increasing the number of Covid tests to help control the spread. “Three times more tests are being done now as compared to the last peak,” Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain was quoted as saying.
The sudden spike in cases comes amid the festive season and rising pollution levels. While Durga Puja celebrations ended on 25 October, the next festivals are Diwali and Chhath on 14 November and 20 November, respectively.