381 new cases, 34 more deaths as positivity rate settles at 0.5%

New Delhi: As the national Capital on Sunday reported 381 new infections in the last 24 hours — a new low since the second wave began here — shopping malls and marketplaces in the city started preparing to reopen their premises for customers starting today after an almost 2-month lockdown.

The Delhi government on Sunday said that the city had seen 34 more people die from the virus in a day with the total toll from Covid-19 in the city now at 24,591 officially.

Significantly, the daily positivity rate in the city dipped further to 0.5 per cent, according to data compiled by the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Delhi government, which added that over 76,800 tests were conducted in a 24-hour period.

On Saturday, the city had recorded 60 fatalities and 414 new cases of COVID-19 with a positivity rate of 0.53 per cent. The day before, Delhi had recorded 50 deaths and 523 new cases with a positivity rate of 0.68 per cent.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Saturday said the coronavirus situation in Delhi is quite under control. "Bringing back the economy on track is crucial as the situation of coronavirus is improving," he said.

While the CM had gone on to announce the reopening of markets and shopping malls in light of the dipping cases, on Sunday, managements of these malls and market associations started preparing ways to enforce Covid-19 rules when they reopen today.

Metro services will also resume today (Monday) at 50 per cent capacity, with authorities saying both tokens and smart cards will be allowed although smart cards will be preferred in light of the pandemic.

Some market areas marked social distancing spots outside their shutters to ensure people maintained the rules. All major marketplaces across the city carried out mass sanitisation drives and malls prepared for customers once again.

Kejriwal had held two key meetings on Friday to discuss preparations for the anticipated third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. He held an important meeting with the expert committee and then with the preparation committee later.

Delhi has been reeling under a brutal second wave of the pandemic that is sweeping the country, claiming a massive number of lives daily with the recent oxygen supply shortage issue at various hospitals adding to the woes.

Since April 19, both daily cases and single-day death count had been spiralling. On April 20, Delhi had reported 28,395 cases, the highest in the city since the beginning of the pandemic. On April 22 the case positivity rate was 36.2 per cent, the highest so far. The highest number of 448 deaths was reported on May 3. However, the number of cases has shown a downward trend of late. The positivity rate too has been shrinking in the last several days. The city now has 5,889 active cases, down from 6,731 a day before, the bulletin said. The number of people under home isolation dipped to 2,327 from 2,855 on Saturday.