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Delhi sees 60% increase in daily Covid cases; masks made mandatory in public places

City reports 1,009 new cases, one death; positivity rate at 5.7%

School students wearing masks return from school in Delhi | PTI School students wearing face masks return from school in Delhi | PTI

The upward trend in the number coronavirus cases continued in Delhi with the city reporting 1,009 fresh cases on Wednesday, a 60 per cent increase from the previous day. According to the health department's data, one person succumbed to the virus while the positivity rate went up to 5.7 per cent.

On Tuesday, the national capital had recorded 632 fresh cases with a positivity rate of 4.42. 

Delhi has been witnessing a steady increase in the number of cases over the past few weeks, prompting the government to make wearing of masks mandatory again in public places and impose a fine of Rs 500 in case of a violation.

The decision was taken on Wednesday at a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), which also decided not to shut schools and come up with separate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in consultation with experts for them.

In the DDMA meeting, emphasis was also laid on early vaccination of eligible groups as it will help keep in check the impact of the pandemic, officials said.

It was highlighted that the trends of hospitalisation needed to be closely monitored for the next fortnight as well as conducting genome sequencing of all positive samples, put through the RTPCR test. 

According to official figures, there are 9,735 beds for COVID patients in Delhi hospitals and just 80 (0.82 per cent) of them were occupied.

The Delhi government had last month relaxed Covid restrictions and made masks voluntary as cases declined. 

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