Covid-19 in Delhi: Dip in cases continues, deaths cross 20,000

The Capital reported 12,651 cases of the infection on Monday, 13,336 on Sunday and 17,364 cases on Saturday, according to the government’s daily bulletin.

Delhi on Tuesday continued to witness a dip in new Covid-19 cases, with 12,481 fresh infections recorded in the last 24 hours, which was the lowest since April 12. The positivity rate also came down to 17.76%, the lowest since April 14 this year when it was 15.92%. On April 22, a positivity rate of 36.2%, the highest so far, was recorded.

Workers bring in equipment at the Covid care centre coming up near GTB Hospital. (HT Photo )

The Capital reported 12,651 cases of the infection on Monday, 13,336 on Sunday and 17,364 cases on Saturday, according to the government’s daily bulletin.

“The positivity rate has been reducing from the highest 36%... this is a positive sign but we cannot get comfortable. We can’t rest till the positivity rate drops below 5% and the number of new cases below three or four thousand. The reversal of the trend began in April last week, but now it is confirm that Delhi has crossed the peak,” said Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain in a press briefing on Tuesday.

“At the moment, there is no problem relating to oxygen and the demand for oxygen is also slowly going down. However, the demand for hospital beds is still quite high; nearly 20,000 people are admitted in the hospitals. At the peak, it was about 22 thousand hospitalisation. In comparison, the highest number of hospitalisation during November was 9,500,” said Jain.

With 347 deaths due to coronavirus disease (Covid-19) reported on Tuesday, Delhi’s total toll crossed 20,000 mark. With the sharp spike in the number of cases in the city in April, the number of deaths has also shot up with the last 5,000 fatalities being recorded within 14 days. The previous 5,000 deaths in the city were reported over 135 days, according to the daily health bulletin shared by the Delhi government.

Dr Rajinder K Dhamija, professor of medicine and neurology at Lady Hardinge Medical College, said the hospitals have been running full as people need oxygen or ventilator support for longer duration. “The variants in circulation in Delhi – the UK B1.117 and Indian B1.617 – have not only resulted in more infections but also severe symptoms. During this wave, we have seen that people have fever for about 10 to 14 days and requiring respiratory support for about two to three weeks,” he said.