Delhi has reported over 2.7 lakh Covid cases so far (File)
The Additional District Magistrate of Delhi's South West district has withdrawn an order making quarantine in Covid care facilities mandatory for infected people over 60. The order - issued September 21 - said people with co-morbidities had to admit themselves to coronavirus care facilities.
However, according to guidelines in place across the national capital (these have been issued by the Delhi government), people over 60 who tested Covid-positive and had conditions like hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung/liver/kidney diseases and cerebro-vascular diseases, were allowed home isolation after evaluation by the treating medical officer.
An official reason has not been given for the order's withdrawal, although sources have confirmed it was called back because it was not in accordance with protocols issued by both the Delhi government and the ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research, the centre's nodal body in this crisis).
Across Delhi there are 17,291 coronavirus patients in home isolation.
The national capital, which was, until recently, the second worst affected by the pandemic, has logged over 2.7 lakh cases. Of these 5,235 are virus-linked deaths and 29,228 are active cases.
The city reported 3,292 new cases and 42 deaths over the past 24 hours, government data showed Sunday night - a marginal shift from the 3,372 cases and 46 deaths reported in the 24 hours prior.
Delhi has registered over 3,000 new cases per day for nine of the past 10 days; there were 2,548 on September 21. Two of the past 10 saw more than 4,000 new cases and five saw more than 3,700.
Today, however, was the fourth consecutive day in which the number of new cases fell.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said today the fatality rate in the city over the past 10 days was less than one per cent, and asserted that an increase in testing had led to the rise in cases. He also said the occupancy rate of hospital beds had declined over the past five days.
Last week Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Delhi had seen off a second wave of infections.