Delhi on Friday registered 1,042 new coronavirus cases and two deaths due to the disease, ANI reported.

The number of new cases was 7.97% higher than Thursday’s count of 965 cases. The national capital’s coronavirus count on Friday was the highest since February 10, when the city had recorded 1,104 cases, according to NDTV.

The daily test positivity rate, however, declined marginally to 4.64% from 4.71% a day earlier. A total of 22,442 persons were tested for the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from 20,480 a day earlier.

At present, there are 94 persons in dedicated Covid-19 hospitals, out of whom 23 are on oxygen support.

The city’s active caseload currently stands at 3,253, according to the health department.

Covid-19 cases have been increasing in Delhi in the past two weeks, after having remained at low levels for the last two months.

On Friday, the Delhi government made masks compulsory in public places, merely three weeks after the mandate was lifted, PTI reported. The government also announced that violators would have to pay a fine of Rs 500.

The rule does not apply to persons travelling together in a private car. However, a senior official told the news agency that those travelling in taxis will not be exempted from the mask mandate.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation announced that it will deploy flying squads to ensure that commuters wear masks in metro trains. “Passengers will be counselled to ensure strict adherence to the guidelines and offenders will even be penalised on the spot, if required,” the authority said.