NEW DELHI: With Covid-19 cases among children rising in the national capital, the Delhi government has decided to put in place a new monitoring system. This will primarily be about schoolchildren, according to government officials.
On Tuesday, the city recorded 632 new cases. The test positivity rate was 4.42 per cent. According to doctors and health officials, cases are expected to rise as testing increases. Doctors are saying there have been cases of re-infection and the number of children testing positive has risen after the reopening of schools and colleges. The good news is, most of them are reporting mild symptoms. “Most of the children affected are asymptomatic and are in home isolation,” said a health department official.
“Those hospitalised are mostly patients with comorbidity or in serious condition with low oxygen level,” said Dr Ritu Saxena, Deputy Medical Director at Lok Nayak Hospital. She added that currently, only three Covid-19 patients are admitted in the ICU ward.
As per the Delhi government’s health bulletin, 41 patients are hospitalised. Of them, 10 are in ICU, 12 on oxygen support and two on ventilator support. While there have been reports of schoolchildren being infected, experts have insisted that there is no need to panic.
“This is an RNA virus, it will keep mutating. Re-infections and breakthrough infections will keep rising, but the severity and death toll will not be high. This is why schools should not be closed. Cases among children were recorded even when schools were shut,” said Dr Sanjay Rai, professor of community medicine, AIIMS.
On Tuesday, the Central government asked Delhi and three other states to maintain strict watch and take preemptive measures to control any emerging spread of infections. A meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will be held on Wednesday, to discuss the rise in cases and how to respond to it, said health department officials.