Delhi has recorded more than 4.89 lakh Covid cases since the pandemic started in December last year (File)
New Delhi:
Delhi has reported 3,797 new Covid cases and 99 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, data showed Monday evening. The data also showed that only 29,821 tests were done in a day, and the positivity rate was still almost two and a half times worse than the national average.
This is the second day in a row that the number of daily new cases in the nation’s capital has fallen below 4,000 – a welcome statistic given that the city recorded more than 7,000 cases per day between November 10-14 and more than 5,000 per day from November 3. deaths, however, remain around the 100 mark; 95 were reported on Sunday and 91 on Saturday.
However, with less than 30,000 coronavirus tests done in the past 24 hours (the majority of which – 18,011 – were the less reliable Rapid Antigen variety), questions continue to be asked about the lack of tests possibly hiding the true spread of the virus.
The number of daily tests – essential for quickly identifying and isolating Covid patients and tracking the spread of the virus – has steadily declined, from 64,121 on November 11 to 56,553 on November 13. The number dropped to an alarming low of 21,098 on Sunday.
The drop in testing, which Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said now crosses one lakh a day, has been attributed to a staff shortage due to the holiday season.
Meanwhile, Delhi’s positivity rate (or the percentage of tests that return a positive result) is still far too high – it was 12.73% in the last 24 hours and 15.33% in the last 24 hours. the previous period. By comparison, the national average for Monday morning was only 5.3%.
Experts stress that increasing testing is key to slowing the number of new infections and the spread of the virus, and lowering the positivity rate.
The peak of cases started about 12 days ago. On November 3, the city reported 6,725 cases in 24 hours; an increase of 2,724 cases from the previous day. Three days later, that number crossed the 7,000 mark and eight days later it crossed the 8,000 mark for the first time in this pandemic.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday to discuss the Covid situation in Delhi. Speaking to the press after the meeting, Mr Kejriwal said: “There are also plans to increase the number of tests performed from 60,000 per day currently to one lakh.”
Mr Shah also ordered that the number of RT-PCR tests (considered more reliable) per day be doubled, that the number of intensive care and oxygen beds be increased, and that additional doctors and doctors be transported by plane.
This morning, Health Minister Satyendar Jain ruled out the possibility of another lockdown in the capital and said “Delhi’s third wave peak is gone”. Mr Jain said he expected the number of cases to decline now that the holiday season is “over and the crowds are going to thin.”
This was after a central government report last month warned that Delhi could see an average of 15,000 cases per day due to lack of social distancing during the holiday season, deteriorating quality levels of the air and winter.
The total number of cases in Delhi is now over 4.89 lakh. Of that total, more than 7,600 are virus-related deaths. The number of active cases has exceeded 40,000 – that number was below 10,000 in August.
