City reports 24,638 fresh cases, 249 deaths; positivity rate 31%
Demand for oxygen is not only for people of Delhi but also for people who have come from other states to get treated, says Deputy CM Sisodia
NEW DELHI/NOIDA/GHAZIABAD: Delhi logged 24,638 fresh COVID-19 cases and 249 deaths due to the viral disease on Wednesday as the positivity rate stood at 31.28 per cent, meaning almost every third sample turned out to be positive, amid a growing clamour for oxygen and hospital beds in the city.
Only 16 ICU beds for COVID patients were available in hospitals across Delhi at 11:59 pm, according to government data.
On Tuesday, the city had registered a record 28,395 cases and 277 fatalities, the highest since the outbreak of the pandemic. The positivity rate was 32.82 per cent, also the highest so far.
The city has reported over 1,350 deaths due to the deadly virus in the last seven days.
On Monday, Delhi had recorded 23,686 cases with a positivity rate of 26.12 per cent and 240 fatalities. The national Capital witnessed 25,462 cases with a positivity rate of 29.74 per cent on Sunday.
With the fresh cases, Delhi’s COVID-19 tally has risen to 9,30,179 and the death toll stands at 12,887, according to the latest health bulletin. A total of 78,768 tests, including 45,088 RT-PCR tests, were conducted the previous day, the bulletin said.
So far, over 8.31 lakh patients have recovered from the disease in Delhi, it added. The number of active cases in the city has reduced to 85,364 from 85,575 the day before, the bulletin stated.
The number of people under home isolation has increased to 42,768 from 40,124 on Tuesday, while that of containment zones has mounted to 19,624 from 17,151 the day before, it said.
As many as 49,461 beneficiaries received their Covid-19 vaccine shots under the city’s vaccination drive in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, in Noida, a total of 536 persons were tested positive for Covid on Wednesday taking the total number of cases to 32,133. With 288 patients getting recovered from the virus, the number of active cases stands at 4,009. Four deaths were also reported due to Covid-19 on Wednesday taking the death toll to 118.
In Ghaziabad, the total number of positive cases reported on Wednesday were 465. Eight persons succumbed to the virus at hospital, taking the death toll to 117.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia addressed a press conference on Wednesday, making a plea to the Central government to increase the supply of oxygen in Delhi. He said, “We have been reiterating that the hospitals in Delhi do not have enough oxygen supply for patients. We have been constant with our communication to the Central government regarding the same. The most important issue is that the quota decided by Central government for oxygen supply in Delhi is not enough due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.
“Delhi does not make its own oxygen, there is a limited supply of oxygen and State governments do not have any control over oxygen supply, it is controlled by the Centre. The way COVID-19 cases have increased exponentially in Delhi and many patients from other states have come to the city to get treated, there is a greater need for more and more oxygen supply in Delhi.”