NEW DELHI: The national capital on Saturday recorded 86 fresh Covid-19 cases in a day, the highest in over five months. The positivity rate stood at 0.13%. Earlier, on July 8, Delhi had reported 93 Covid-19 cases.
The rise in cases is being recorded amid the Omicron scare in Delhi. The total number of patients infected with the latest variant of the coronavirus jumped by 12 on Friday to reach 22.
The number of Covid cases recorded in Delhi so far has now reached 14,42,090. Over 14.16 lakh patients have recovered from the disease.
On Thursday, 85 cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 0.15%, while on Friday, the daily cases count stood at 69 with a positivity rate of 0.12%.
The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi stands at 25,100.
Two deaths due to Covid-19 have been recorded in December so far in Delhi. Seven Covid-19 deaths were reported in November, four in October and five in September. The case positivity rate was 0.13% on Saturday, according to the health bulletin. On Wednesday, 57 cases were recorded in Delhi with a positivity rate of 0.10%.
City hospitals say there has been a significant rise in admissions due to Covid-19 of late. Most doctors blame it on the complete lack of Covid-appropriate behaviour among the masses. There is also an apprehension that Omicron, a new variant of the coronavirus that is known to be highly transmissible, may cause further spurt in cases.
Countries need to prepare for a surge in infections by strengthening public health and social measures and continue to vaccinate, WHO’s chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan said recently while sharing the UN health body’s technical brief on enhancing readiness for Omicron on Twitter.
In the last 18 days, data shared by the government shows that Delhi has recorded an average of more than 65 Covid-19 cases daily. This is the highest in the last four months. In August, September, October and November, Delhi recorded an average of 48,37, 32 and 35 cases daily, respectively.
The number of active cases has increased significantly, from 348 active cases in October-end to 484 on December 16.
The increase in cases of Covid-19 is also reflected in the data shared by Delhi government on occupancy of Covid beds across the city’s hospitals and isolation centres. According to the latest update, 195 Covid beds are occupied and there are more than 200 patients under home isolation.
