Daily Covid cases cross 700-mark, a first since Dec; positivity rate also on the uptick

The number of daily Covid-19 cases in Delhi crossed the 700-mark on Friday -- it touched 716 -- for the first time since December-end, according to the daily health bulletin released by the Delhi government

The number of daily Covid-19 cases in Delhi crossed the 700-mark on Friday -- it touched 716 -- for the first time since December-end, according to the daily health bulletin released by the Delhi government. The positivity rate – proportion of samples that return positive among the total tested – also jumped to 0.93%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points in just two days.

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This is the highest positivity rate since the 0.98% recorded on December 28, when it had dipped below 1% consistently for the first time in the city. With the positivity rate inching close to 1%, doctors across the city said Delhi may be looking at another surge in cases.

The Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday had said, “The positivity rate is currently under 1%, it has been so for a couple of months now. Till the time the positivity remains below 1%, it is okay but people should remain alert and wear masks. Compared to other cities, Delhi is in a better position. Maharashtra has a positivity rate of 19.3%, Punjab 4.96%, Madhya Pradesh 4.89%, Kerala 3.49%, Haryana 2.88%, and Gujarat 1.92%.”

The number of active cases, or those currently living with infection, also crossed the 3,000-mark on Friday. According to the daily health bulletin, there were 3,165 active cases in the city till Thursday night, of which more than half – 1,624 – were in home isolation. There were 820 people hospitalised across the city.

Delhi has also increased the number of tests being conducted as per the Centre’s directive to states that are seeing an increase in the number of Covid cases. There were over 73,000 tests conducted daily, on average, in the past seven days as compared to 67,000 tests the week before, and nearly 61,000 the week prior to that.

However, Delhi still hasn’t reached its testing capacity. In the third week of December, over 83,000 tests were conducted each day, on average. However, only 53% of the tests were done using the more accurate RT PCR method as compared to over 62% in the past seven days.

Dr Lalit Kant, former head of the department of epidemiology, the Indian Council of Medical Research, said, “With the increase in the positivity rate, we have to now focus on testing as many people as possible and detecting as many cases as possible. Then, there is a need for extensive contact tracing for each case and testing those contacts. The focus has to be on RT PCR tests.”

As the RT PCR tests amplify the genetic material of the virus to detect it in patient sample, it is more accurate as compared to the rapid antigen test that is known to throw up false negatives for as many as half of the positive people tested using that method.