Covid cases in Delhi have sort of stabilised and are likely to taper down in the coming days, Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Friday.

Talking to PTI, he also said that most of the coronavirus-related deaths recorded in the national capital in recent times have been caused by co-morbidities, and Covid was incidental.

Delhi on Thursday logged 1,603 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 26.75 per cent along with three fatalities, according to data shared by the city health department here. With the new fatalities, the death toll in the city due to the coronavirus pandemic rose to 26,581.

Out of 7,976 Covid beds in the hospitals of Delhi, 390 are occupied, the health department data showed. A day earlier, the city reported six deaths along with 1,757 new cases with a positivity rate of 28.63 per cent.

Bharadwaj said, "Covid cases have sort of stabilised. Recently, it was being said that the cases were showing an upward trend. Now, it is likely to taper down in the coming days." Asked about the fatalities being reported regularly in Delhi due to the viral disease, he said, "In most of these cases, patients had serious illnesses for a long time and Covid was incidental. But, any death is unfortunate, and it should not happen".

Asked if any special arrangements are being considered for schools and children in view of the Covid cases, the minister said, no such step was being planned as of now.

"We are telling teachers that if students have cough and cold, those children should be advised to take rest. We will appeal to parents to not send their children to school if they have such symptoms," he said.

On the Delhi government's preparedness to fight the Covid pandemic, Bharadwaj said, "We have all our arrangements in place, including Covid beds, oxygen beds, ICU beds, oxygen supply and others."

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