Delhi on Saturday reported 20,718 new coronavirus cases and 30 deaths, a bulletin by the health department showed. The number of new cases was 15% fewer than Friday’s count of 24,383 infections.

Only 67,624 tests were conducted on Friday and the dip in cases can be attributed to this. The active caseload rose by 1,134 to 93,407. The positivity rate continued to be at 30.64%, up from 29.21% two days ago.

The overall caseload jumped to 16,91,684 since the pandemic began in early 2020, while the death count increased to 25,335.

According to the government data, 2,518 patients are in hospitals, of which 113 are on ventilator support. Of the 15,494 beds in hospitals, just 2,620 are occupied.

There are 69,554 patients in home isolation, the bulletin said.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that it seems like the national capital has reached its peak of coronavirus infections, PTI reported. “Cases have started slowing down,” he told reporters. “Let’s see when the decline happens.”

He added that the hospitalisation rate has stabilised in Delhi. Jain also said the government will think about easing restrictions when the daily cases come down to 15,000 or below.

On Thursday, the city recorded an all-time high tally of 28,867 infections. On April 20, Delhi recorded its biggest daily rise of 28,395 cases.

Mumbai Covid figures

Meanwhile, Mumbai on Saturday reported 10,661 new coronavirus cases, down from Friday’s 11,317 infections, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said. The positivity rate also dropped slightly to 19.54%.

However, the city reported 11 deaths, two more than Friday. This is also the highest single-day toll since July 29 last year, PTI reported. As many as 21,474 patients were discharged, taking the total recoveries to 8,99,358.

With this, the caseload in the country’s financial capital rose to 9,91,967, while toll reached 16,446, the civic body said.

Saturday’s count was the third straight day when Mumbai recorded a drop in daily coronavirus infections. On Wednesday, the city reported 16,420 new cases and a day later the count dropped to 13,702.

Dr Pradeep Vyas, additional chief secretary of the Maharashtra health department, in a letter to his colleagues said that the Delta variant was found in 68% samples out of the over 4,200 analysed, while the remaining 32% patients contracted the Omicron strain, according to PTI.