For 2nd straight day, Delhi adds 800+ new Covid-19 cases

The Capital added 813 cases on Saturday, 716 on Friday, 607 on Thursday, 536 on Wednesday, 425 on Tuesday and 368 on Monday (March 15), government data showed.

Delhi’s Covid-19 graph continued to rise on Sunday, as the Capital added 823 new infections, 10 more than were added the previous day.

With 79,714 total samples tested, the Capital recorded a positivity rate of 1.03% on Sunday – slightly lower than Saturday’s 1.07%. (ANI Photo)

The Capital added 813 cases on Saturday, 716 on Friday, 607 on Thursday, 536 on Wednesday, 425 on Tuesday and 368 on Monday (March 15), government data showed.

One more death was also recorded on Sunday, taking the toll to 10,956.

With 79,714 total samples tested, the Capital recorded a positivity rate of 1.03% on Sunday – slightly lower than Saturday’s 1.07%. On Saturday, the positivity rate breached the 1% mark for the first time since December 27.

The Capital’s positivity rate had been below 1% for 82 days before Saturday.

The increase has been particularly sharp since March 15, when the city saw 368 cases.

The trend is in tandem with similar rise in infections in several other states, particularly Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana. Overall, the weekly average of new cases a day across India has risen from around 23,500 on March 15 to over 31,600 on March 19.

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said, “The number of tests being conducted in Delhi is much higher than the national average. We are in the right direction in terms of testing, tracking, isolating and vaccination… Around 46,000 people were vaccinated on Saturday, which is the highest so far… The situation in Delhi is under control. I still appeal to residents of the city to wear masks, follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and adhere to social distancing norms especially in the light of the Holi festival ahead. We will further scale up enforcement in public places for the safety of people.”

So far, Delhi has recorded 647,984 Covid-19 cases, of which 633,410 people have recovered, government records showed.

In 2020, Delhi witnessed three distinct phases of severe uptick in Covid-19 cases. At its peak, Delhi recorded 8,593 new cases on November 11 and a positivity rate of around 15.4% on November 14.

Dr Suneela Garg, director professor of community medicines department, Maulana Azad Medical College in Delhi and member of the Lancet Covid-19 commission and vaccination task force for India, said, “Going by the findings of the last sero-survey in Delhi, around 10 million people in the city are yet to have the infection. It is quite likely that they are getting infected now. Also, the proportion of asymptomatic cases is much higher in the ongoing phase of increase in cases. The government should go for a strong containment policy and club that with aggressive tracing, testing and isolation. The government should not only aggressively identify contacts of Covid-19 cases, but ensure they are all tested and isolated on being diagnosed Covid-19 positive.”

As many as 56.13% of the 28,000 people sampled during Delhi’s fifth serological survey -- in late-January -- were found to have developed antibodies against the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes the coronavirus disease.