COVID death toll in Delhi mounts to 231; 591 fresh cases take total to 12,910

The coronavirus death toll in Delhi mounted to 231, while 591 fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported on Saturday, taking the total number of infections in the city to 12,910, authorities said.

The city recorded the highest spike in fresh cases -- 660 -- on Friday. This is the fifth consecutive day, when 500 or more fresh cases have been recorded in a day in the national capital.

In a bulletin issued on Saturday, the Delhi Health Department said the death toll from coronavirus has risen to 231 and the total number of cases mounted to 12,910.

It, however, added that the cumulative death figures refer to fatalities where primary cause of death was found to be COVID-19, as per the report of the Death Audit Committee on the basis of case sheets received from various hospitals.

On Friday, the total number of cases stood at 12,319, including 208 deaths. 

With 591 fresh cases, the total number of coronavirus cases in Delhi has climbed to 12,910. 

Facing criticism for "under reporting" COVID-19 deaths, the Delhi government recently had issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for hospitals and other health facilities in the city on reporting fatalities due to coronavirus.

As many as 6,267 patients have recovered, been discharged or migrated so far, while there are 6,412 active cases, the Delhi Health Department said.

A total of 1,65,047 COVID-19 tests have been conducted till date, it said.

The total number of positive patients under home isolation stands at 3,086, it said.

According to the Delhi Health Department bulletin, out of the total 12,910 cases recorded so far, at least 1,886 are admitted at various hospitals like LNJP Hospital, RML Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) and AIIMS Jhajjhar, adding 184 of them are in ICU and 27 on ventilators. 

The number of containment zones in Delhi has been increased to 86, from 79 till Friday.

Recently, the Delhi health secretary had flagged to district authorities that despite rising number of cases in Delhi, the number of containment zones were gradually reducing.

She had directed all district magistrates to make containment zones as per the government guidelines.