Capital records 419 fresh cases
New Delhi: Delhi on Saturday recorded 419 new COVID-19 cases, crossing the 400-mark for the third consecutive day, while the positivity rate stood at 0.56 per cent, according to data shared by the health department.
Interacting with reporters, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Friday the figures of over 400 per day suddenly were "not alarming", and asserted that the positivity rate was still below one per cent.
The city recorded 419 fresh COVID-19 cases on Saturday, while the death toll climbed to 10,939 with three more fatalities, as per the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department.
On Friday, 431 cases were recorded, the highest single-day spike in over two months, while the count on Thursday was 409.
Delhi had registered 370 cases on Wednesday and 320 on Tuesday. The city had reported three deaths due to the disease on Wednesday and four on Tuesday.
The new Coronavirus cases recorded on Saturday took the infection tally to 6,43,289, the bulletin said.
The number of active cases of the disease in the city rose to 2,207 from 2,093 on Friday, while the positivity rate rose to 0.60 from 0.59 per cent the previous day.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday met the family members of a civic hospital's lab technician who died due to COVID-19, and offered them a compensation of Rs 1 crore, officials said.
He met the mother, wife and children of Rakesh Jain, who was working at the Hindu Rao Hospital in north Delhi.
"While working on COVID duty, Jain got contracted the COVID-19 infection. He was shifted to the Metro Hospital, but later he lost his life due to COVID. He was martyred but till his last breath, he served the citizens of Delhi. The Delhi government salutes such frontline workers who have served relentlessly the citizens of Delhi," Kejriwal was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the chief minister's
office.
"Today, on behalf of the Delhi government, I have handed over a cheque of Rs 1 crore to the family members of Rakesh Jain," he said.
He continued to serve the people till his last breath, the chief minister said.
"His (Jain's) elder son is looking for a job. The Delhi government will also provide a job to his son. I want to ensure the family of Rakesh Jain that the Delhi government will stand beside them in the future also, whenever they need any help," Kejriwal said.
Jain got infected by COVID-19 while serving coronavirus patients and was admitted to the Metro Hospital at Preet Vihar on June 17, where he died the next day. A resident of Delhi, he had joined the service in 1988, and was due to retire in 2022, officials said.
