Delhi records 1,506 fresh Covid cases, positivity rate at 10.63%

The government bulletin also showed that of the 9405 dedicated Covid hospital beds, only 353 were occupied as of Tuesday, and 9052 beds were vacant.

Delhi reported 1,506 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, the highest daily count of infections since June 26 when the city logged 1,819 cases, data from the Delhi government’s daily bulletin showed. On Monday, the Capital recorded 822 cases of the viral disease.

Delhi records 1,506 fresh Covid cases, positivity rate at 10.63%. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Tuesday’s cases came at a positivity rate of 10.63% as the city conducted a total of 14,165 tests. It was the second consecutive day when the test positivity rate was over 10%. On Monday, the metric was recorded at a six-month high of 11.41%. To be sure, the city conducted only 7,205 tests on Sunday -- the data that is reflected in the bulletin a day later.

On Tuesday, three people also succumbed to Covid-19 infection, according to the government data.

Senior officials from the Delhi government’s health department said on Tuesday that the administration was monitoring the Covid case count in the Capital closely, and district authorities have been directed to ensure that there are enough testing camps set up across the city to ensure early detection of cases.

“We are in constant touch with the district administrations and we are closely monitoring the situation. We have asked the districts and the police to tighten vigilance and ensure that people are following Covid appropriate behaviour in crowded public places,” said a senior health department official who asked not to be named.

The government bulletin also showed that of the 9405 dedicated Covid hospital beds, only 353 were occupied as of Tuesday, and 9052 beds were vacant.

Health experts suggested that people must follow Covid appropriate behaviour, and also take their booster doses of the Covid-19 vaccines to stay safe.

HT had reported that the current spike in Covid cases is largely being steered by Omicron’s BA.2.75 sub-variant. Genome sequencing data of the city shows that BA.2.75 was the most dominant strain in Delhi, followed by BA.2.76 and BA.5, scientists said.

“The BA.5 sub-variant of Omicron is definitely more transmissible as compared to BA.1 and BA.2. However, there is no evidence of it being more dangerous than the other two variants. With less severe infection, the number of anti-bodies that a patient’s body makes also reduces. That is why we are seeing so many re-infections since Omicron,” said Dr Lalit Kant, former head of the epidemiology and communicable diseases department in the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR.