For the first time, the number of RT-PCR tests in Delhi has exceeded the number of rapid antigen tests, while over 3.7 lakh people have been surveyed as part of the efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus in the national capital, the Union Home Ministry said on Sunday.

Amid the spurt in coronavirus cases in Delhi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah took the lead in ramping up medical infrastructure and formulating a new strategy to combat the Covid-19 surge in the national capital.

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“For the first time, the number of RT-PCR tests in Delhi have exceeded the rapid antigen tests,” a spokesperson of the Home Ministry said.

According to sources, the number of real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) tests in the city surpassed the number of rapid antigen tests on Friday. A total of 250 ventilators have been delivered to the DRDO hospital and are being installed.

The house-to-house survey, as directed by Shah, has started in Delhi and till Friday, 3,70,729 people have been surveyed.

AIIMS has also started the process for recruitment of additional 207 Junior Resident doctors, the spokesperson said.

The actions come in the wake of 12 decisions taken at a meeting chaired by Shah on November 15 after Delhi saw fresh spike in Covid-19 cases. The spurt in cases in Delhi has been witnessed since October 28 when the daily rise breached the 5,000-mark for the first time and it crossed the 8,000-mark on November 11.

121 fresh Covid deaths, 6,746 cases in Delhi:

The national capital today reported 6,746 new coronavirus infections (Covid- 19) and 121 fresh Covid fatalities which raised its death toll to 8,391, according to the Delhi government’s latest health bulletin issued late tonight. These new cases were detected out of 54,893 tests. The positivity rate was 12.29 per cent.

Delhi’s tally of active coronavirus cases rose to 40,212 from yesterday’s 39,74, the health bulletin stated. The city’s coronavirus caseload mounted to 5,29,863, of which 4,81,260 patients have recovered, the bulletin said. The recovery rate stood at 90.82 per cent.

Delhi had yesterday recorded 5,879 coronavirus cases and 111 Covid fatalities. These cases were detected out of relatively lesser number of tests, 45,562. Delhi had on Friday logged 6,608 coronavirus infections and 118 Covid fatalities.

~With inputs from PTI~