289 deaths & 8,506 cases in Capital

New Delhi: Delhi reported 8,506 new coronavirus cases, the lowest in over a month, with a positivity rate of 12.40 per cent, while 289 more people succumbed to the infection, the Health Department said on Friday.

However, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said ICU beds in hospitals in the city were still full.

The less number of fresh cases can also be attributed to a smaller number of tests — 68,575 — conducted on Thursday.

At 12.40 per cent, the positivity rate is the lowest since April 11 when it stood at 9.4 per cent. The number of new infections is the lowest since April 10 when 7,897 people were diagnosed with the disease, according to government data.

In a virtual press conference, Kejriwal said the number of new infections reduced to around 8,500 from a high of around 28,000 cases and that the positivity rate dipped to around 12 per cent from a high of 36 per cent on April 22.

"In the past 10 days, 3,000 beds have become empty, however, ICU beds are still full," he added.

Delhi had reported 10,489 cases on Thursday, 13,287 cases on Wednesday, 12,481 on Tuesday, 12,651 on Monday, 13,336 on Sunday, 17,364 on Saturday, 19,832 on last Friday, 19,133 on last Thursday, 20,960 on last Wednesday and 19,953 last Tuesday.

The positivity rate was 14.24 per cent on Thursday, 17 per cent on Wednesday, 17.8 per cent on Tuesday, 19.10 per cent on Monday, 21.67 per cent on Sunday and 23.34 per cent on Saturday.

On April 22, a positivity rate of 36.2 per cent, the highest so far, was recorded.

There were 308 deaths on Thursday, 300 deaths on Wednesday, 347 on Tuesday, 319 on Monday, 273 deaths on Sunday and 332 deaths on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said a makeshift COVID-19 facility attached to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital will start operations on Saturday with 250 ICU beds.

Kejriwal inspected the facility at Ramlila ground on Friday and thanked the doctors, engineers, and workers who set up 500 ICU beds in just 15 days.

He said 250 ICU beds will start on Saturday, and the remaining will become operational by Monday.

Another 500 ICU beds have already become operational at a COVID care facility attached to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital. A total of 200 ICU beds are being prepared at the Radha Soami COVID facility in Chhatarpur, according to a statement.

This means that a total of 1,200 ICU beds will become operational in Delhi in the next one or two days, he said.

The chief minister said the COVID situation in Delhi is improving, and as a result lesser beds are getting occupied in hospitals. "However, ICU beds are still full. This means that the system still has serious patients. So, we need more ICU beds. I am sure that these 1,200 ICU beds will provide relief to the people of Delhi," he said.

Kejriwal thanked the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, and the central government for providing oxygen to Delhi.