A day after sharp drop, Delhi records over 2,000 fresh COVID-19 cases; death toll mounts to 3,165

New Delhi, Jul 7 () A day after witnessing a sharp drop, Delhi on Tuesday recorded over 2,000 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 1,02,831 while the death toll from the disease mounted to 3,165 with 50 fatalities.

On Monday, the coronavirus tally crossed the 1,00,000-mark, making the national capital the first city in the country to surpass the grim milestone. The city had recorded 1,359 cases - the sharpest drop in 19 days --- after 13,879 tests were conducted.

The bulletin issued by the Delhi Health department on Tuesday said 2,008 fresh coronavirus cases were reported, taking the tally to 1,02,831.

It said there are presently 25,449 active cases in the national capital, of which 16,608 are recovering in home isolation.

A total of 22,448 tests were also conducted, 8,569 more than the previous day, it said.

On the positive side, the number of cases registered remain in the range of 2,000. On seven days in June, the city had recorded over 3,000 cases every day. On June 23, the national capital had reported the highest single-day spike of 3,947 cases.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday had said a drop in the number of daily cases and declining positivity rate indicated an improvement in the situation.

In a related development, a 500-bed COVID-19 care centre, which has been set up at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) village in east Delhi, will start operating from Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday.

Lt Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are likely to inaugurate the newly-established facility, a move that will augment the city's bed capacity in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases.

Sisodia inspected the facility and said the facility has been established in just six days.

In a tweet, Sisodia said the Delhi government's 500-bed luxurious COVID hospital in East Delhi is ready in just six days, adding that it will start getting patients from Wednesday.

East Delhi District Magistrate Arun Kumar Mishra had said the state of the art facility has been set up at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) village. The facility would have separate wards for men and women, and stay-in facilities would be provided to doctors and nurses, he had said.

Besides, the CWG village, the Radha Soami Satsang Beas facility is also operational and managed by Indo-Tibetan Border Police. It has the capacity to house 10,000 beds and around 2,500 beds have been currently made operational.

According to the health bulletin, of the 15,301 beds in both private and government hospitals in Delhi, 10,298 are vacant. Kejriwal on Monday had said 180 and 200 ICU beds have been increased at the LNJP and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospitals respectively,

Meanwhile, the Delhi government-run Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH), a dedicated COVID-19 facility, has received nod from the ICMR to conduct plasma therapy on 200 coronavirus patients, senior officials said.

RGSSH in east Delhi has treated over 1,000 patients after being declared a dedicated facility.

"We received the ICMR nod about 10 days ago, and currently we have the permit to do plasma therapy on 200 recipients. We are making all arrangements before we can begin, but we are short of manpower as of now," a senior doctor at RGSSH told . KND BUN PR TDS TDS