Capital’s positivity dips below crucial 20% level W.H.O. CLASSIFIES ‘DOUBLE MUTANT’ B.1.617 VARIANT OF GLOBAL CONCERN

Rate lowest since April 14; is the worst over in this wave of infections for Delhi?

There were 12,651 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Delhi on Monday, the lowest since April 12, and the test positivity rate dipped below 20% for the first time since April 14 as more indications emerged of the Capital having been able to arrest to some degree the fourth wave of the coronavirus outbreak.

While the numbers reported in the government’s Covid bulletin corresponded to the typically fewer tests carried out on a Sunday, these are still lower than the numbers for the last three Sundays, when the city reported 23,582 (May 3), 20,201 (April 26) and 23,686 (April 19) cases. More importantly, the fall in the positivity rate – the proportion of samples turning up a positive result – reinforced the signal, which was also sup

NEW DELHI:

Apr 01, 2021

ported anecdotally by several doctors who said they now have some room to let in new patients to their otherwise overburdened health care facilities.

At its peak, Delhi recorded 28,395 cases on April 20, soon after the chief minister expanded the night and weekend curfew protocols into a lockdown. That protocol has

now been renewed several times, and will stay at least till May 17 in order to further flatten the curve.

The Capital’s active case load too has come down from 99,752 recorded on April 28 to 85,258 on Monday, while the number of available hospital beds has nearly doubled from 1,683 to

The coronavirus B.1.617 is a global variant of concern, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday as scientists reported new clues that suggest the mutations first seen in India may be making the pathogen more transmissible.

In recent days, new assessments disclosed by scientists has shown that the B.1.617 and its particular lineage B.1.617.2 have rapidly expanded their footprint in some regions, and in lab tests show that they can lead to a high viral load – although it isn’t clear yet if they are more resistant to vaccines or immunity from a past infection.

“There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility of the B.1.617,” Maria Van Kerkove, the WHO’S lead on Covid-19, said on told Monday. The variant is being considered as one of the reasons why India has been overwhelmed by a surge in cases.→p8

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