Delhi on Saturday recorded 1,558 new coronavirus cases – the highest since mid-December, PTI reported. The total number of cases stood at 6,55,834, according to a health bulletin released by the Delhi government.

On December 15, the national Capital reported 1,617 new cases. Saturday is the third consecutive day when the city has reported more than 1,500 infections.

Ten more people died, taking the number of fatalities to 10,987. It is the highest number of deaths since January 13, when 11 people succumbed to the disease.

So far, over 6.38 lakh patients have so far recovered from the infection. The active cases rose to 6,625 from 6,051 on Friday. The positivity rate stood at 1.70%, the health department bulletin said.

Delhi recorded 1,534 cases on Friday, 1,515 cases on Thursday, 1,254 cases on Wednesday and 1,101 cases on Tuesday – the first time since December 24 that infections crossed the 1,000-mark.

Despite cases rising steadily, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday dismissed any possibility of authorities imposing another lockdown in Delhi. Jain said lockdown was not a solution to rein in the pandemic.

“It follows a 14-day cycle – between a person catching the infection and recovering from it,” he added. “Experts said the virus will die if a lockdown is imposed for 21 days. Authorities kept on extending the lockdown, but the virus did not die. I don’t think lockdown is a solution.”

The health minister said that there were enough hospital beds available for coronavirus patients and it could be increased if the need arises. “Only 20 per cent of the beds are occupied currently,” Jain said.

Cases have surged across several states in since late February. Experts attribute this to flouting of safety measures such as the wearing of face masks and physical distancing.

India’s overall case load stands at 1,19,08,910, the third-highest behind the United States and Brazil. The country reported 291 new deaths on Saturday, taking the overall toll to 1,61,240.