Delhi adds 461 cases, 2 deaths

The city last added more cases on February 27 this year, when it recorded 484 infections. The Capital logged an average of 276 cases each day over the past week, showed data.

Delhi on Saturday added 461 Covid-19 cases, up from 366 a day ago, while two people died of the infection, showed data from the state government.

Covid-19 patients undergo treatment inside the Shehnai Banquet Hall, a Covid-19 care facility, in New Delhi. (PTI)

The city last added more cases on February 27 this year, when it recorded 484 infections. The Capital logged an average of 276 cases each day over the past week, showed data.

The fresh cases came at a test positivity rate of 5.33%, as the metric went past the 5% mark for the first time since February 1. However, experts have said that changes in testing protocol, coupled with milder symptoms caused by the dominant Omicron variant of the infection, mean that the test positivity rate number may not accurately portray the rate of infection spread in a region.

Experts have said that the death rate and hospitalisation numbers were reliable metrics to understand the city’s Covid-19 situation.

Just 59 Covid-19 patients occupied hospital beds in the national capital, according to the bulletin, leaving over 99% beds vacant, even with the state government in a position to scale up the city’s medical infrastructure, if required.

Testing too saw a dip on Saturday, with 8,646 samples collected, according to the state government’s health bulletin.

“We are closely watching the situation. As the government is repeatedly saying, we are prepared to manage a surge in cases but our first step is to prevent a rise,” said a senior health official.

Health experts said that while there is no need to panic, the government needs to closely monitor the situation in the coming week.

“It will definitely do no harm to tighten Covid protocols. Mask wearing definitely needs to be made mandatory. Look at places like Thailand, which adopted masks as part of their lifestyle since the 2003 Sars outbreak. Reducing gatherings in indoor setups would also help. It is time to be watchful,” said Dr KK Talwar, former president of the Medical Council of India.

The recent uptick in Covid-19 cases has prompted officials to reconsider some of the protocols, including the dropping of penalties on not wearing a mask. Authorities will also step up Covid-19 testing.

UP CM asks NCR districts to be ‘on alert’

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday directed health department officials to be on “alert mode” in National Capital Region (NCR) districts. He also directed officials to undertake genome sequencing of all patients in Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad districts.