NEW DELHI: Once again, the cases of COVID-19 are on the upwards in the national capital and Delhi now rank at the top among all cities in the India with the highest caseload. Till October 15, Delhi had recorded a total 3,21,031 cases of infection, overtaking Pune, where the number stood at 3,20,681. On the same day, Pune had recorded 1,301 new positives while it was 3,483 in Delhi.
According to Delhi government’s daily COVID bulletin released on Friday evening, the city had a total of 3,24,459 cases, which mean an additional 3,428 fresh cases in the 24-hour period whereas Pune city added 476 new cases to its total tally, according to Maharashtra government figures. Pune recorded its first case of coronavirus infection on March 9 while in Delhi it was first reported on March 2.
A week ago, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced that the peak of the second wave of COVID-19 in the capital was over and that the new reports were indicating a downward trend in new positive cases.
For the past four days, the natuional capital has again been witnessing 3,000-plus cases every day. “The Covid-19 situation in Delhi is under control now. The peak of the second wave of infections was witnessed on September 17, when around 4,500 cases were recorded," Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had said at a press conference.
"With time, the number of fresh cases has gone down even with the high number of tests being done. Similarly, the occupancy of hospital beds that had gone up to about 7,200 has dropped again to 5,500. The occupancy in ICUs has reduced, too. I hope we are past the second peak," he had said.
Pune, Delhi and Mumbai have been among the worst affected cities by COVID-19 since the beginning. For the past few days, Pune had been at the top among cities with maximum number of cumulative cases while Bengaluru has been reporting the highest daily cases. Pune has seen a total of 2,73,958 recoveries while in Delhi nearly 2,95,699 patients have been cured.