Capital adds 501 Covid cases; 99% hospital beds still vacant

NEW DELHI: Delhi reported more than 500 Covid-19 cases for the second consecutive day on Monday, government data showed, logging a steady rise infection for close to two weeks now, but hospitalisation and fatality rates have remained stagnant.

Authorities, who are scheduled to take a decision later this week on beefing up curbs and potentially bringing back mask mandates, said the rise at present is due to more targeted testing, which has meant that people who are most likely to have Covid-19 are being tested since they have symptoms.

“Because we are testing those who are extremely sick, senior citizens or people with comorbities, the possibility of the samples returning positive is high. We have said before that we are not taking this spike lightly and we have made arrangements in hospitals to accommodate a rise in hospitalisations. But till now, the hospital admissions are extremely low,” said a senior health official, asking not to be named.

Due to the targeted testing, the test positivity rate – a bellwether figure for outbreak trends – has shot up. Delhi government’s health bulletin showed on Monday, 501 new cases were recorded out of the 6,492 tests conducted, translating to a positivity rate of 7.72%. The number is not comparable to data from before April, since the city was carrying out at least nine times more tests on average but changed the strategy when central guidelines did away with the need for random testing.

But, according to officials last week, random testing at metro stations, bus stops and marketplaces are likely to be resumed from this week in order to better improve disease surveillance.

Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director, Lok Nayak Hospital, the largest Covid hospital in the Capital, also said that hospital admissions currently are at its lowest.

He said that currently, Lok Nayak Hospital has four patients admitted with Covid, out of which three are adults with comorbid conditions and one is a child.

While experts agreed the Covid situation in the Capital is not alarming, they asserted that the government needs to carefully monitor the situation in the coming days.

“While we do not need to panic because hospital admissions are still quite low, the government needs to ramp up testing and also ensure that all the positive patients are contact traced. Yes, fluctuation in cases could be a result of fully opening up economic activities but that should not make us complacent,” said Dr Suneela Garg, professor and a member of the Lancet Commission Covid India Task Force.

Dr KK Talwar, former president of the Medical Council of India and who also headed the Covid-19 taskforce of Punjab, also stressed on the use of masks in public places.

“The government needs to monitor the numbers closely for at least the coming week. However, we need to make masks a part of our lives now, especially in crowded public places where the chances of contracting infection could be higher,” said Dr Talwar.