New Delhi: Delhi’s single-day Covid-19 cases count breached the 1,000-mark for the first time in seven months on Wednesday, while the positivity rate stood at 23.8 per cent, according to data shared by Delhi’s health department.
1,149 new cases in 24 hours
The national capital reported 1,149 new cases with one death. However, the department said that coronavirus was not the primary cause of death. Wednesday’s cases were the highest since August 19 last year.
Positivity Rate 23.8%
The city had recorded 1,417 cases on August 19 last year, with a positivity rate of 7.53 per cent and three deaths due to the viral disease. With the addition of fresh cases, Delhi’s infection count has risen to 20,17,250. The bulletin states that the death toll is 26,546.
The fresh cases came out of 4,827 tests conducted the previous day. Delhi recorded 980 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest since August 20, with a positivity rate of 25.98 per cent, two deaths. Delhi recorded 484 single-day COVID-19 cases with three deaths on Monday, with a positivity rate of 26.58 per cent.
On Sunday, 699 cases were reported with a positivity rate of 21.15 per cent, while four patients had died. The city recorded 535 cases on Saturday with a positivity rate of 23.05 per cent. The national capital recorded 733 cases on Friday with a positivity rate of 19.93 per cent.
On Thursday, 606 cases were reported with a positivity rate of 16.98 per cent and a fatality rate of one. On Wednesday, Delhi added 509 cases with a positivity rate of 26.54 per cent, the highest in nearly 15 months. In January last year, the positivity rate had touched the 30 per cent mark.
Delhi has seen a spurt in the count one day in the last fortnight amid a sharp rise in H3N2 Influenza cases in the country. The number of fresh cases had dropped to zero on January 16 for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Delhi ready to deal with Covid spike
The health department on Wednesday said that out of 7,944 beds in the city’s dedicated Covid hospitals, 221 are occupied, while 1,995 patients are in home isolation. The number of active cases currently stands at 3,347.
covid mock drill in delhi
Mock drills were conducted at Delhi hospitals on Tuesday to ascertain their preparedness to deal with the disease amid a surge in cases in the national capital. The mock drill conducted on Tuesday was part of a nationwide exercise to take stock of the preparedness of hospitals to deal with the surge in Covid cases. The authorities had already announced that both public and private facilities are expected to participate in the exercise to be held on April 10 and 11.
Version behind XBB.1.16 covid spike
Amidst the gradual rise in the number of Covid cases in Delhi, medical experts have said that the new XBB.1.16 variant of the virus may add to the surge. However, he added that there is no need to panic and people should follow Covid-appropriate behavior and take their booster shots.
They also said that this increase in the number of cases could be the result of more people getting themselves tested for Covid as a precaution when they actually become infected with the influenza virus and develop fever and related symptoms.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has stated that the increase in the number of influenza cases is due to Influenza A subtype H3N2. H3N2 virus tends to lead to more hospitalizations than other subtypes. Symptoms include runny nose, persistent cough and fever.