Delhi adds 1,042 Covid-19 cases, 2 deaths

On Friday, 94 people were admitted to hospitals. This means that 99.03% dedicated Covid-19 beds in hospitals were vacant. Apart from this, 2,173 patients were in home isolation.

The national capital on Friday added 1,042 cases and two more deaths of Covid-19, even as 99% of all hospital beds reserved to treat patients with the infection remained vacant.

The Delhi government on Friday released an official order reintroducing fines mandatory in the city, slapping a ₹500 fine for non-compliance of mask rule in view of rising Covid-19 cases. (Picture for representation)

Friday’s case count was up from 965 on Thursday, and came on the back of 22,442 tests, of which 4.64% samples returned positive results.

Delhi added an average of 732 cases each day over the past week, state government data showed.

The bulletin showed that 3,253 are currently battling the infection in the city.

However, state officials and health experts assuaged fears over the ongoing uptick, and said there was little cause for concern if hospital beds continued to remain unoccupied.

“The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has brought back fines for not wearing masks in public places and we have also made the booster shots free for everyone in the 18-60 years age category. These were already available free of cost in our centres for senior citizens. We are keeping a close watch on the rising cases and we have ordered the district officials to be on the watch,” said a senior health official.

The Delhi government on Friday released an official order making fines mandatory in the city, slapping a ₹500 fine for non-compliance.

On Friday, 94 people were admitted to hospitals. This means that 99.03% dedicated Covid-19 beds in hospitals were vacant. Apart from this, 2,173 patients were in home isolation.

Health experts also said that the government needs to concentrate on vaccinating as many people as possible with booster shots before another peak.

They also agreed that consultations for Covid-19 have been on the up for the past few days.

“We have seen that in the last few days, there has been an increase in the number of patients reporting influenza-like symptoms... All these patients are getting the Covid-19 test done. One in 10 patients are turning out to be positive. Their whole family is also testing positive,” said Dr Vikas Maurya, director-head of the department of pulmonology at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.

He added, “Patients who are getting admitted at present are not very severe. Those who are found to be Covid-positive are in the moderate category with some lung involvement...”