New Delhi: Delhi on Saturday reported 24,375 COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike in the national Capital till date. The city also reported 167 deaths, the highest single-day fatality count till date, while the positivity rate shot up to 24.56 per cent, also the highest so far.
With the fresh cases, the national Capital's cumulative tally has risen to 8,27,998.
A total of 99,230 tests, including 69,206 RT-PCR tests and 30,024 rapid antigen tests, were conducted the previous day. The number of active cases in the city increased to 69,779.
Earlier in the day, seeking better COVID-19 management, the Delhi government has deputed bureaucrats in private hospitals too in view of the raging pandemic in the city, officials said on Saturday.
A total of 10 IAS officers have already been appointed nodal officers at various COVID hospitals of the Delhi government.
"About 15 DANICS officers have been posted in private hospitals across Delhi to handhold the management and oversee adherence of all COVID measures," the health department said in a statement.
Also, 24 DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Civil Service) probationers have been deployed in state government hospitals to assist the nodal IAS officers in overall general superintendence, it said.
Around 50 eligible inmates were vaccinated at a COVID vaccination centre established at Rohini jail by the Delhi Prisons department on Saturday, officials said. A total of 363 inmates have been vaccinated so far in three jails under the Delhi Prisons department — Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini, they said.
According to officials, the COVID vaccination centre was started at the Rohini jail on Saturday with the help of District Immunization Officer, North. "A total of 50 eligible inmates of Rohini jail were vaccinated on Saturday.
Earlier the eligible and willing inmates of Rohini Jail were being taken outside to the nearest COVID vaccination centre for inoculation under police guard," Director General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday instructed district magistrates to check whether or not a laboratory has any pending samples before giving them more to test, in order to prevent any delay in test reports. He cautioned that a serious patient could lose his life if it takes three days for the results after sample collection for COVID-19 testing.
"You are playing with their life. Strict action would be taken against such labs that
collect more samples than their actual capacity and do not provide the report within 24 hours," he said.