New Delhi: Delhi is expected to record 17,000 fresh COVID-19 cases on Friday, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said, a day after the national capita; recorded 15,000 cases.
Delhi continues to witness a surge in the COVID-19 cases as the national capital reported 15,097 fresh cases of the infection in the last 24 hours pushing the positivity rate to 15.34 per cent.
According to the bulletin issued by the state health department on Thursday, the number of active cases in the city stands at 31,498. The total count of cases has now gone up to 14,89,463.
With six COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the death tally has gone up to 25,127.
Meanwhile, 6,900 people recovered from the infection. With this, the recovery tally in the capital city now stands at 14,32,838.
As many as 1,091 people who have been tested positive for COVID-19 are hospitalized.
In the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive, 1,41,498 eligible beneficiaries were vaccinated in the last 24 hours. Of these, 36,559 were beneficiaries of the age group 15-17 years.
Delhi has been witnessing a rise in infections following the emergence of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron. In view of the rising cases, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has decided to impose a weekend curfew in the national capital.
While a majority of businesses and shops will remain closed, Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has also said that several people will be exempted like:-- Healthcare workers -- Government officials involved in essential and emergency services, such as those working in the health department, police, fire department, public transport etc-- Judges and all Judicial officers I officials /staff members of all courts in Delhi as well as Advocates/Legal Counsels, connected with the case hearing on production of valid I card / Service ID Card / Photo Entry Passes / Permission Letters Issued by the court administration.
Staff in offices of diplomats of various countries as well as persons holding any Constitutional post on production of valid I card-- Persons going out for Covid-19 testing or vaccination, on production of valid ID card.
Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla emphasised on the need to have a "unified strategy" in Delhi-NCR region to tackle COVID-19 pandemic, especially for the Omicron variant, while chairing a meeting on Thursday.
Union Home Secretary's concern came during nearly two hours virtual meeting he chaired to review the COVID-19 situation and preparedness in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR), which includes Delhi and nine bordering districts in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
