Delhi on Thursday reported 12,306 fresh Covid-19 cases and 43 more fatalities due to the viral disease, while the positivity rate dipped to 21.48 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.

This is the highest number of deaths reported in a day since June 10, 2021, when 44 fatalities were recorded.

As many as 396 people have succumbed to Covid-19 in the national capital so far in January.

The Delhi government today slashed the rates of RT-PCR tests in the capital.

Private labs and hospitals have been ordered to charge ₹ 300 for the test, which was ₹ 500 earlier. The home collection rate has been reduced to ₹ 500 from ₹ 700. Rapid antigen test will now cost ₹ 100, down from ₹ 300.

A total of 57,290 Covid-19 tests were conducted on Wednesday, as against 57,776 on Tuesday, the data showed.

Delhi had logged 35 deaths and 13,785 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday with a positivity rate of 23.86 per cent.

The city had recorded 28,867 Covid-19 cases last Thursday, the sharpest single-day spike since the beginning of the pandemic. The number then declined to 24,383 on Friday, 20,718 on Saturday, 18,286 on Sunday, 12,527 on Monday, and 11,684 on Tuesday.

The positivity rate stood at 30.6 per cent on Saturday, the highest in the ongoing wave of the pandemic so far, 27.9 per cent on Sunday, 28 per cent on Monday and 22.5 per cent on Tuesday.

There are 40,756 containment zones in the city.