Covid in Delhi: Restart random tests, widen jabs net, districts told

Delhi added 735 cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, a marginal dip from 795 the previous day, which was the highest single-day spike in nearly a month. The city has added an average of 581 cases each day over the past week, up from 346 cases in the week ending June 5.

The Delhi government has asked district administrations to restart random tests at public spots, expand the booster vaccination net and focus enforcing mitigation measures like masking and distancing, amid an uptick in daily Covid-19 infections over the past week, said officials aware of the matter.

A health department official said that despite the uptick in the cases, there is no cause for concern, but added that the government is monitoring the situation.

Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena is also likely to review the city’s Covid-19 preparedness on Monday, officials said, his first meeting on the pandemic situation since he took office last month. Officials from health department, municipal health wing, revenue department and other departments concerned are expected to attend the meeting, officials said.

Chief secretary Naresh Kumar also took stock of the situation on Friday and asked officials to take containment measures, increase monitoring and encourage people to get vaccinated, if still inoculated, and take a booster jab if eligible.

Delhi added 735 cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, a marginal dip from 795 the previous day, which was the highest single-day spike in nearly a month. The city has added an average of 581 cases each day over the past week, up from 346 cases in the week ending June 5.

A health department official said that despite the uptick in the cases, there is no cause for concern, but added that the government is monitoring the situation.

Indeed, hospitals have largely been undisturbed by the present surge, with just 100 of the city’s 9,587 Covid-19 beds occupied, leaving nearly 99% vacant.

A district official said administrations have been asked to penalise those violating masking and distancing norms.

“We are going to increase enforcement in crowded spots like markets or bus terminals…We are also planning to start random testing at public places,” the official said.

With the caseload low, random sample collections dipped significantly, after being restarted in April this year to make up for a record dip in overall testing.

The district official quoted above also said that several people may be getting rapid tests at home and not reporting them to the state government, keeping the infection numbers lower than they may actually be and impairing contact tracing efforts.

“People buy the self-testing kits and get themselves tested at home. It is difficult to monitor such cases and their contacts,” the official said.

K Mahesh, chief executive officer of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (Dusib) said he has directed officials to stay cognisant of infections in slum clusters and homeless shelters.

“People living in slums and night shelters are more vulnerable to Covid-19... We are making all possible efforts to protect them from the disease,” said Mahesh.

Dusib has arranged first jabs for 3,192 residents of the city’s night shelters, while 4,977 have received both shots.

Experts concurred that the Omicron variant would cause milder symptoms that will allow patients to recover at home.

Dr Jugal Kishore, head of the department of community medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, said, “The risk due to the rise in cases is not alarming because the Omicron variant is milder and self-limiting. Usually, an evolving virus keeps throwing up such cases because it evades immunity and has faster transmissibility. Therefore, general hygiene, respiratory etiquettes, proper mask use, avoiding crowds, and better nutrition play a significant role in decreasing the spread of an infection.”