Delhi records 12,306 new Covid cases & 43 deaths
Jain says capital past its coronavirus peak but still not out of danger zone
DELHI SAW a record surge in the number of daily Covid cases recently with over 28,000 cases registered in a day and the positivity rate too had gone beyond 30%
Delhi, on Thursday, reported 12,306 new Covid19 cases—a decrease in the number of infections registered on Wednesday— and 43 deaths. With this, the city’s positivity rate stood at 21.48 per cent.
Meanwhile, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said it seems that the peak of the third Covid-19 wave has gone past in the national capital, even as he cautioned that the city is not out of the danger zone yet.
Delhi saw a record surge in the number of daily Covid cases recently with over 28,000 cases registered in a day and the positivity rate too had gone beyond 30 per cent.
“That spike which Delhi saw can be considered as the peak of the Covid wave and it seems that we are past the peak now .... The number of daily cases has come down in the last few days. Over 13,000 cases were recorded on Wednesday with a positivity rate of close to 24 per cent. On Thursday, the number of cases is lesser than that,” he said.
The national capital reported 28,867 fresh Covid-19 cases on January 13, the sharpest single-day spike here since the outbreak of the pandemic, with a positivity rate of 29.21 per cent. On January 14, the positivity rate had increased to over 30 per cent.
Mr Jain, however, cautioned that the peak of the Covid wave may have gone past in Delhi, but “still we cannot say that we are out of the danger zone yet and we need to watch the trend.”
When asked if some restrictions will be eased, the minister said proactive measures have also led to the fall in the number of cases and for any decision on easing restrictions “we will have to monitor the situation first in the coming days.”
On the question of reduction in the number of tests to detect the infection, Mr Jain claimed that Delhi is still conducting more daily tests than other states and “no one is being denied any test, if needed.”
The hospital bed occupancy in Delhi during the third wave of Covid has been significantly lower than the second wave last year, which had stretched the healthcare infrastructure to its limits, the Union government said on Thursday. Presenting an analysis of the positivity rate and hospitalisation trends during the second and third wave in the national capital, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the hospital bed occupancy remained significantly high from April 1 to almost May 20, 2021. “However, despite an increase in the positivity rate in the current wave, those requiring (hospital) beds and hospitalisation during the third wave is significantly lower,” Bhushan said.
The number of active cases in Delhi is in the range of 75,000 to 78,000. Of these, only 2,500 to 2,600 patients are hospitalised, he added. Giving information on the clinical parameters, Bhushan said around 99 per cent of the adult patients have common symptoms of fever (with or without rigors), cough, irritation in the throat and they are usually settling down after the fifth day.