With Delhi reporting record jumps in Covid-19 cases for two straight days, Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Fridayemphasised the importance

New Delhi: With Delhi reporting record jumps in Covid-19 cases for two straight days, Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday emphasised the importance of wearing face masks, saying people should consider them as a "vaccine" against the virus till the time one is available.

The spread of the virus can be stopped to a large extent if everyone wears a mask. Masks have more benefits than a lockdown, the minister said.

Satyendar Jain

Delhi has reported record jumps of over 5,000 Covid-19 cases for the past two days. It reported 5,673 cases on Wednesday and 5,739 on Thursday.

"People should consider masks as a vaccine till there is one. The spread of the virus can be stopped to a large extent if everyone wears a mask," Jain said.

"A mask has more benefits than a lockdown," he added.

CoronavirusThe positivity rate in Delhi also jumped to 9.55 per cent on Thursday as the infection tally mounted to 3.75 lakh. The number of active cases in the city rose to 30,952 on Thursday from 29,378 the previous day.

Twenty-seven more fatalities were reported on Thursday, pushing the death toll in the national capital to 6,423.