Delhi adds 11 more Covid-19 deaths, most since Jan 13

The city reported 1,819 new cases of the infection on Wednesday. While this spike was slightly lower than the peak reported in the month — 1,904 on March 29, it also came on the back of far fewer tests.

The city reported 11 deaths due to Covid-19 on Wednesday, the most fatalities recorded in a single day in the Capital since January 13, as the fourth wave of the pandemic continued to expand its footprint in Delhi.

A health worker collected a Covid-19 sample in the city. (Reuters)

The city reported 1,819 new cases of the infection on Wednesday. While this spike was slightly lower than the peak reported in the month — 1,904 on March 29, it also came on the back of far fewer tests.

The test positivity rate — proportion of samples that return positive among total tested — has remained above 2.70% on Wednesday. The city has seen far fewer Covid-19 tests during the past three days, primarily on account of the weekend and Holi.

Only 57,544 tests were conducted on average during the three days, in comparison to nearly 83,000 tests conducted each day on average last week.

“The test positivity rate over the past few days has been around 3%, because Delhi, along with the entire country, is witnessing a surge. In some states, the positivity rate has crossed 10%. Delhi’s testing capacity has been increased as well. More than 80,000 tests will be conducted every day,” Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday.

Experts have suggested that an increase in the pace of vaccination might help in the long run.

“Everyone who is eligible for a vaccine in Delhi should be administered the shot quickly. If south Delhi is reporting a high number of cases right now, there will surely be an increase in other districts as well. The impact [of vaccinations] will be visible only eight to 12 weeks later, in the form of fewer hospitalisations and deaths. This is going by the data that we have seen from Israel. It might take longer in India as Israel has been using the Pfizer vaccine that has a higher efficacy; we would have to vaccinate larger number of people to see the same effect,” said Dr Lalit Kant, former head of the department of epidemiology at the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The vaccine rollout in Israel has been among the fastest in the world. Over 50% of Israeli citizens have received both shots of a Covid-19 vaccine, the country’s health minister had said last week.

Delhi’s south district has been included by the Centre in its list of 46 “most affected” districts that have seen the highest surge in the number of cases.