Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain blames 'outside patients' for rise in COVID-19 cases

New Delhi: Amid a spike in the number of coronavirus COVID-19 cases in the national capital, Delhi's Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday said the rise in the caseload was due to "patients from outside getting tested here".

"There have been reports that coronavirus cases are increasing in the national capital. People are coming from out of Delhi, places like Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad, and are getting tested in Delhi. The number increases because of their testing. There is otherwise a decline in cases here," Jain told reporters.

Jain further said that there is an increase in hospital admissions which is also due to the patients coming from outside Delhi.

The national capital reported a spike of 1,300 new coronavirus infections along with 13 COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours. Delhi's COVID-19 tally by Sunday (August 9, 2020) evening has increased to 1,45,427, of which, 10,729 are active cases while 4,111 have succumbed to the virus.

While on Saturday, the number of active cases on Saturday rose to 10,667 with 1,404 new COVID-19 cases and 16 deaths, according to the Delhi government's health bulletin. While 1,130 people recovered from the infection on Saturday, there are 10,668 active cases. The death toll rose to 4,098, Jain told reporters.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated a new Delhi Government Hospital at Ambedkar Nagar. It has 200 COVID-19 beds that will also have oxygen facilities. The capacity will be increased to 600 beds in the near future.