Delhi records 632 fresh Covid-19 cases, no death; positivity rate at 4.42%

Delhi had recorded 501 fresh Covid-19 cases on Monday, 16 less than the previous day. Officials said the last time the positivity rate was above seven per cent in the city on January 29 (7.4 per cent) and on January 28 (8.6 per cent).

Delhi on Tuesday reported 632  Covid-19 cases and zero deaths in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate dropped to 4.42 per cent from 7.72 per cent even as the city had recorded 501 new cases a day before. The active cases stand at 1,274, the Delhi health bulletin shows.

A beneficiary reacts while receiving a dose of Covid-19 vaccine during a vaccination drive for the 12-14 years of age group at a dispensary Daryaganj in New Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI )

On Monday, the national capital recorded 501 fresh cases, 16 less than the previous day. Officials said the last time the positivity rate was above seven per cent in the city on January 29 (7.4 per cent) and on January 28 (8.6 per cent).

After a steady decline in Covid-19 cases, Delhi has been witnessing a spurt in new infections with the positivity rate registering a nearly three-fold rise between April 11-18, according to health department data.

Barring Sunday, Delhi has been witnessing an upward trend in daily Covid-19 cases positivity rate in the last few days. Despite fewer tests, the positivity rate in the city on Monday rose to 7.72 per cent. The national capital on Sunday recorded a 4.21 per cent positivity rate.

On April 11, the positivity rate stood at 2.70 per cent which jumped to 3.95 per cent on April 15 followed by 5.33 per cent on April 16 and 7.72 per cent on April 18, according to the data.

Last week, Delhi recorded a total of 2,606 positive Covid cases against 67,360 tests conducted during the period while the average positive rate was 4.79 per cent, it showed.

On April 11, 5,079 Covid tests were conducted of which 137 came out positive while on April 18, 6,492 tests were conducted and over 501 people tested positive, according to the data provided by the Delhi government.

The national capital registered two deaths due to Covid during this period.

The positive rate surged during the April 11-18 week, barring on April 17 when it dropped to 4.21 per cent from 5.33 per cent the previous day.

Doctors said the cases are expected to surge in the coming days, news agency PTI reported.

However, they said the current trends are not concerning as most of the cases are mild and due to the Omicron XE variant.

"The variant has more transmissibility but is causing mild infection. It is causing upper respiratory infection and not alower respiratory infection," PTI quoted said Dr Jugal Kishore, head of community Medicine, Safdurjung hospital, as saying.

The doctors said as the cases rise, there will be some increase in the mortality and hospitalisation rate, but it will not go beyond control.

"People must remain vigilant. There will be an increase in cases but it will not go beyond control," Dr Abhinav Guliani, a pulmonologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, told the news agency.

The Delhi government recently relaxed Covid restrictions and made masks voluntary last month as cases declined.

On April 1, the positivity rate in Delhi was 0.5 per cent. However, there was a surge in Covid cases from the second week of April.