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Delhi

12 deaths in a day, active cases lowest in nearly 9 weeks

New Delhi: Delhi on Tuesday reported a record low of 674 cases, the third consecutive day when fresh cases were in the three digits and 12 COVID-19 deaths, also a record low in the last few weeks, officials on Tuesday said, as the health bulletin of the Delhi government showed active cases in the city to be at its lowest in nearly nine weeks.

The Delhi government said that the total tally of cases had increased to 1,39,156 on Tuesday but the number of active cases in the city had come down to 9,897. However, the low number of fresh cases also coincides with significantly low testing numbers.

According to the health bulletin, Delhi conducted 9,295 tests in the last 24 hours, of which 4,108 were RT-PCR tests and 5,187 were rapid antigen tests. While trends have shown fewer tests on Sundays, which is reported in Monday's bulletin; the city has seen less than 10,000 tests for the first time in almost a month. This has also led to the daily positivity rate in the Capital slightly increasing from around 5.6 per cent to over 7 per cent, as per Tuesday's figures.

The total number of tests done to date in Delhi stands at 10,83,097.

The Delhi government said that 972 COVID-19 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours, taking total recoveries here to 1,25,226 and that the death toll from the contagious disease had climbed to 4,033, with 12 fresh deaths. However, the number of hospitalised Coronavirus patients continued to decline with a little over 2,900 patients currently in hospital and 5,461 patients recovering in home isolation.

In another sign of an improving situation, the LNJP Hospital, the Delhi government's biggest COVID-19 treatment facility, did not report any death due to the disease two days in a week.

And as the coronavirus situation in the Capital seemed to be improving, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the "Delhi model" in tackling the pandemic is being talked about everywhere after the South Korean Ambassador to India H.E. Shin Bong-Kil praised Delhi's handling of the virus as well.

South Korea has earned worldwide praise for its handling of the virus which has resulted in one of the lowest deaths as a ratio of its population.

The South Korean Ambassador said, "I am very impressed with the Delhi Model. Actually, Korean Model is 3T - Test, Trace and Treat. Delhi Model is Test and Home Quarantine, and it is a very effective and wise measure which has been made in India's and particularly Delhi's situation. I am very happy and I would like to congratulate the Delhi government that they made this achievement."

The CM shared the Ambassador's tweet and said he was glad Delhi's model was being recognised the world over.

CM Kejriwal also shared a picture of the health bulletin to show that active cases in the city had significantly come down and said, "I am proud of you, Delhiites. Your "Delhi model" being discussed everywhere." He also added that this was not the time to get complacent and urged people to continue following safety and precautionary measures.

Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the deadline for completing the city's second Serological Survey had been extended to August 7 because the two consecutive holidays of Eid Al-Adha and Raksha Bandhan had affected the daily sample collection targets of the district health surveillance teams.

And in a related development, gymnasiums and yoga institutes in Delhi are unlikely to re-open from Wednesday as no new order has so far been issued by authorities here to allow such establishments in the city, officials said.

On July 31, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority had issued an order lifting restrictions on night curfew and since then, the DDMA has not issued other orders giving relaxations under 'Unlock-3'. Asked whether gymnasiums and yoga centres will be allowed in Delhi from Wednesday, a top official said, "The government has already issued status quo orders." Another official said, "Such establishments (yoga institutes and gymnasiums) will not be allowed to re-open from Wednesday as the COVID-19 threat may loom large"

However, in its 'Unlock-3' guidelines issued on July 29, the Centre had allowed opening of yoga institutes and gymnasiums from August 5 and the Health Ministry had also issued specific guidelines for the functioning of the same.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi on Tuesday felicitated several heathcare workers and other supporting staff of a private facility who have dedicated themselves to the fight against COVID-19, hospital authorities said.

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