Delhi's Covid-19 positivity rate at an all-time low of 0.44%: Satyendar Jain

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said on Friday the city has recorded lowest cases of the coronavirus disease since May 9 last year and that the positivity rate has dropped to an all-time low of 0.44%.

The Capital on Friday recorded 295 fresh Covid-19 infections, the lowest in more than eight months, which pushed the disease caseload to 631,884, news agency PTI cited the health bulletin. According to the health bulletin, the national capital had recorded 293 cases on April 26 last year.

The death toll mounted to 10,732 with 10 new fatalities and the number of active cases in the national capital came down to 2,795 from 2,937 the previous day, the authorities said.

According to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi health department, the 295 fresh cases came out of 66,921 tests conducted the previous day, including 38,990 RT-PCR tests and 27,931 rapid antigen tests.

This dip in Covid-19 numbers comes at a time when the national capital is all set for the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination exercise on Saturday at 81 centres with healthcare and frontline workers, who have been at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic, to be given the shots first. The inoculation drive will start from the state-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, where chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Satyendar Jain will be present.

The 81 sites include six central government facilities -- All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Safdarjung Hospital, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, Kalawati Saran Hospital and two ESI hospitals.

The rest of the 75 centres, spanning all 11 districts of the Capital, include Delhi government-run facilities such as LNJP Hospital, GTB Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, DDU Hospital, BSA Hospital, Delhi State Cancer Institute, ILBS Hospital, and private facilities such as Max Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Apollo Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Kejriwal has said the Delhi government is fully prepared for the vaccination roll-out starting January 16, with more than 8,000 healthcare workers to be given the shots every scheduled day in the national capital. It is also prepared to receive, store and administer Covid-19 vaccine to 5.1 million priority category people in the city in the first phase of vaccination, Kejriwal had earlier said. After healthcare and frontline workers, people aged above 50 and those below 50 years but with co-morbidities will be inoculated, he added.

(With inputs from agencies)