Active cases and deaths at 2-month low; Kejriwal hails Delhi Covid model

LOW TESTING Active cases drop below 10k after 67 days, but fewest tests since June 18; 12 deaths on Tuesday the lowest since May 27

nNEWDELHI: Active cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Delhi dropped below the 10,000mark for the first time in over two months on Tuesday, the same day that the number of daily deaths also touched a two-month low— two statistics that highlight the progress made by the Capital in its fight against the pandemic.

Delhi recorded 674 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the total number of infections in the Capital to 139,156, according to the Delhi government’s health bulletin. However, only 9,295 new tests were conducted in the day— the lowest number of daily tests in 47 days.

As of Tuesday, of the 139,156 total Covid-19 cases in Delhi, 9,897 were active. This was the first time since May 29 that active Covid-19 cases in Delhi dropped below 10,000. At their highest so far, active cases in Delhi touched 28,329 on June 27, but have been on a steady decline since.

Active cases—those still under treatment—is a crucial metric because it directly reflects the pressure on the health care system. It is calculated by subtracting the number of recovered patients and deaths from the total tally. “Active cases left in Delhi less than 10,000 today. Delhi is now at the 14th position in terms of active cases. No of deaths have come down to 12 today. I am proud of you, Delhiites. Your ‘Delhi model’ being discussed everywhere. But we should not get complacent and take all precautions,” tweeted Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

With 7.1% of its total caseload currently active, Delhi has the lowest number of active cases in the country. Across the country, active cases constitute 31.6% of all cases. The reducing number has also meant more free beds. “Since the number of active cases is low, the number of hospitalisations has also gone down,” said Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director, Lok Nayak hospital.

On average, just over 2,900 patients have been admitted in hospitals over the last week.

DROP IN DAILY DEATHS

On Tuesday, 12 new deaths were reported in Delhi, taking the total number of fatalities due to Covid-19 to 4,033. This was the lowest number of daily deaths in Delhi in 70 days. Much like daily cases, new fatalities have been steadily declining in the Capital over the past month. In the week ending on August 4, 152 deaths were reported. This number was 191 for the week ending July 28 and 244 on the week ending July 21.

Delhi’s biggest Covid-19 treatment facility—2,000 bed Lok Nayak hospital—has not recorded a single death for three days in a week. “The CM had tweeted when Lok Nayak hospital first reported no deaths on July 27. After that, no death was reported at the hospital for two more days. The number of deaths has reduced drastically; due to the availability of several treatment options,” said Dr Kumar.

The hospital had been reporting 10 to 15 deaths per day in June when Delhi had seen a surge in the number of cases and deaths due to Covid-19.

After the fifth consecutive day when daily testing dropped (it was 9,295 on Tuesday, 10,133 on

Monday and 12,730 on Sunday, 18,154 on Saturday and 19,091 on Friday), the weekly average positivity rate of cases in the city has started rising again. In the week ending Tuesday, the city has a little over 15,000 tests a day, compared to nearly 18,000 the week before that.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said the low testing numbers were because of the long weekend which included Eid and Raksha Bandhan. “Testing will pick up [Wednesday] onwards,” he said.

The average positivity rate in Delhi had spiked to a point where nearly a third (31.4% on June 14) of all tests conducted were positive for Covid-19 around midjune. Since then, this number has dropped almost daily, it touched a record low of 5.7% on July 30. However, after a week of relatively low testing, it has climbed to 6.7% for the week ending on Tuesday.