94 cases, lowest in over 9 months

New Delhi: Delhi recorded 94 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the lowest in over nine months, while the positivity rate slipped to 0.17 per cent in the city, authorities said.

One fatality was also registered, taking the death toll due to the viral disease to 10,894 in the national Capital, according to the latest health bulletin issued by the Delhi government.

Delhi had recorded 96 coronavirus cases on January 27, which was the lowest then in over nine months and the first time that the daily cases' count was below the 100-mark in that month.

No death due to COVID-19 was recorded in the city on Saturday, the second time in February when the single-day fatality count was nil. On February 9, no fatality from the coronavirus infection was registered in the national capital after a gap of nearly nine months.

The fatality count was two on February 2, 5 and 7.

The 94 cases were detected in the 56,944 tests conducted the previous day, according to the bulletin. The COVID-19 case tally has climbed to 6,37,181 in the city, the authorities said, adding that the positivity rate has further declined to 0.17 per cent. The tally of active cases slightly rose to 1,036 on Tuesday from 1,031 the previous day, according to the bulletin.

The total number of tests conducted the previous day included 34,679 RT-PCR tests and 22,265 rapid antigen tests, the bulletin said.

Meanwhile, over 15,000 beneficiaries received COVID-19 vaccine shots on Tuesday, out of whom 2,532 were those who got their second dose, officials said.

The overall turnout was about 50 per cent spread across 298 vaccination centres. The vaccination drive, started on January 16, has picked up pace in the last one week, and on Monday, 2,191 healthcare workers who had received their first shots four weeks ago, got their second dose.

On Tuesday, 15,053 beneficiaries were vaccinated. Among the healthcare workers, 3,501 got first dose and 2,532 received the second shot. Also, 9,020 frontline workers got their first jabs on Tuesday, a senior official in the Health Department said.

"Six cases of AEFI (adverse events following immunisation) was reported," he said.

Under the nationwide mega vaccination drive launched on January 16, a total of 4,319 (53 per cent) health workers against a target of 8,117, were administered the shots at 81 centres across the city on day one.

As per doctors, the second dose is to given to a beneficiary after a gap of 28 days.

On Saturday, a total of 13,768 beneficiaries received vaccine shots and second dose began to be given to healthcare workers who had received the first jab 28 days ago.

On the second scheduled day after the rollout of the exercise on January 16, the figures stood at 3,598 (44 per cent of the target). The sharp fall had come after one severe and 50 minor adverse effect cases were reported, on the opening day of the vaccination drive. The count on third schedule day was much higher, at 4,936 (48 per cent).

Meanwhile, 100 sanitation workers were vaccinated on the first day of a COVID-19 vaccination drive at a SDMC-run Lajpat Nagar hospital on Tuesday.