36 new cases, 0 deaths; over 70% tests in last 5 mths were RT-PCR

New Delhi: No death due to COVID-19 was recorded in Delhi on Thursday, while 36 fresh cases were reported with a positivity rate of 0.05 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.

Only one fatality has been recorded till now in this month. The death was reported on September 7.

On July 18, July 24, July 29, August 2, August 4, August 8, August 11, August 12, August 13, August 16, August 20, August 21, August 22, August 23 and August 24, August 26, August 27, August 28 and August 29 too no death due to COVID-19 was recorded, according to official data.

On March 2, the national capital had reported zero death due to the virus. On that day, the number of single-day infections stood at 217 and the positivity rate was 0.33 per cent.

The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had swept the city during the April-May period.

A total of 79,003 tests, including 55,125 RT-PCR tests and 23,878 rapid antigen tests, were conducted a day ago, the bulletin said.

On Wednesday, 41 fresh cases were recorded as the positivity rate stood at 0.05 per cent, as per official figures.

The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi stood at 25,083.

Daily cases count had dropped to 20 on August 30, when one death was recorded, according to official figures.

RT-PCR, the most recommended method for tracing coronavirus, accounted for over 70 percent of the total tests conducted to identify infected patients in Delhi in the last five months, according to government data.

Between August 1 and August 25, health authorities conducted 16.17 lakh tests, including 11.18 lakh RT-PCR ones.

In July, 21.79 lakh COVID-19 tests were conducted in the capital. Of this, 15.18 lakh were conducted through the RT-PCR method.

RT-PCR tests accounted for 71.42 percent of the total 21.88 lakh tests conducted in June and 75.17 percent of the 21.41 lakh tests conducted in May.

In February, March and April; 64.81 percent, 64.29 percent and 66.02 percent tests were conducted through this method.

Over 20 lakh tests were conducted in January, of which 11.78 lakh (57.65 percent) were RT-PCR tests.

Real Time Polymer Chain Reaction test (RT-PCR) and Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) are two main methods used to detect coronavirus.

RT-PCR detects the viral genetic material (RNA) and is quite accurate. The results can take up to two days. The advantage of this test is that it can detect the virus even

before the emergence of symptoms and allows early isolation, preventing the spread of the infection.

RAT detects viral proteins at the peak of the infection. This test is not as accurate as the standard RT-PCR test used to accurately identify those infected. A significant percentage of those infected pass the RAT test as a false negative.

The advantage is the low price and availability of the result within 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, the percentage of Delta variant of coronavirus, among all the variants

detected in Delhi through genome sequencing, rose steadily during the four months preceding August, with the figures standing at over 90 per cent for July, according to official data.

The information was shared during a recent meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, which devises COVID-19 management policies for the capital.