In the last 24 hours, 494 new Covid cases and 13 new deaths have been reported in Delhi while 40 people have been detected with new corona strain. All the 40 persons have been admitted to LNJP hospital.

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Out of 40, most of the either came from England or came in contact with people who returned from there. Talking about the current situation in the capital, Delhi's Health Minister said that the positivity rate in Delhi was 0.73 per cent and is steadily declining as only 585 new cases were reported in Delhi on January 1. "We hope that the number of new cases in Delhi remain below 500," he added.

The number of new COVID cases has gone below 500 in the national Capital after several months. However, the Delhi government has appealed to the people to follow the precautionary measures, wear mask and maintain social distance. The minister said, "Despite reducing the availability of beds in the hospitals, 10,500 to 11,000 beds are still vacant. As of now, only 2,000 beds are occupied. As far as new strain is concerned, 40 cases have been traced in Delhi and patients have been admitted to LNJP hospital."

The Delhi government has also authorised four private hospitals for the treatment of patients with new COVID strain. Delhi's Health Minister said that we understand the seriousness of the situation and are fully prepared to tackle it. He also said that medicines and treatment for people of Delhi is free of cost and COVID vaccine will also be given free of cost to them. A dry run was conducted on January 2 at Venkateswara Hospital, GTB Hospital and Daryaganj dispensary.

Delhi government has prepared to vaccinate around one lakh people in a day. The health workers will be given the vaccine on priority while around 51 lakh people will be vaccinated in the first phase. All vaccine centers have been linked with hospitals so that if there are any side effects of the vaccine, the patient can be immediately treated.