46 Covid-linked deaths in Delhi in 5 days, more than 50% of them seniors: Report

National capital Delhi has been witnessing a huge spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in the past few weeks. The Delhi government has put in place a number of curbs, including night curfews, to check the spread of the infection.

The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is proving to be deadly for the seniors in national capital Delhi. According to an audit report on Covid-19 deaths released by the Delhi government, 46 fatalities have been reported in the last five days, out of which 25 people are above the age of 60, Hindustan Times’ sister publication Livehindustan reported.

A beneficiary receives a 'precautionary dose' of Covid-19 vaccine in New Delhi on Monday. (ANI Photo)

The report further said that 28 of those who died due to Covid-19 in the said time period are males, while 18 are females, the Livehindustan report further said. A more worrying aspect is that 50 per cent of the total 46 fatalities happened withing 24 hours of contracting infection, it added.

Of these 23 people, 12 died on the day they contracted Covid-19, while 11 passed away during treatment in hospitals either due to cardiac arrest or stopping of blood flow in veins connecting heart and the lungs.

In the samples tested between January 1 and 9 in Delhi, 78.7 per cent were found to be infected with the heavily-mutated Omicron variant. Another 17.4 per cent of the sample were found carrying the Delta strain.

After a review meeting on Monday, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) suspended dine-in facility at restaurants in the city and shut down bars in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases, but decided against imposing a full lockdown.

The DDMA meeting, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and attended by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, also discussed ways to strictly enforce existing restrictions to check the spread of the coronavirus and its Omicron variant.

Officers were also advised to strictly ensure that people wear masks and adhere to social distancing norms in markets and public places to break the chain of transmission, Baijal said in a tweet.

Delhi logged 17 more deaths due to Covid-19 and 19,166 infections in a day as the positivity rate rose to 25 per cent, the highest since May 4 last year, according to the city health department's data on Monday.