NEW DELHI: As the national capital reels under the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of patients under home isolation in Delhi has mounted to 24,723, a rise of 50 per cent in the last two weeks, while the containment zones count has expanded by over 32 per cent in the same period.
Coronavirus cases have spiralled since October 28 when 5673 fresh cases were recorded and on November 8, the daily infection tally was 7745, the highest single-day spike here till date. In this period, a staggering over 74,000 new cases have been reported.
The number of home isolation cases on October 26 stood at 16,396 and the containment zones count that day was 2930, according to official data. On October 28, the number of fresh cases breached the 5000-mark for the first time and the home quarantined cases rose to 16,822.
With the third wave of the pandemic hitting the national capital, daily cases surged and containment zones count kept mounting, standing at 3878 on Sunday. The positivity rate which stood at 8.23 per cent on October 26 spiralled to 15.26 per cent on Sunday.
The number of home isolation cases on Sunday stood at 24,723, an increase of over 50 per cent since October 26.
Experts have flagged that crowding due to festive season and rise in pollution level and laxity in adhering to Covid-19 safety norms, among other factors, have caused the massive surge in daily cases in the last several days.
So, rise in home isolation cases is a direct result of that, they said. The count of home quarantined cases on October 19 was 14,164 which fell marginally on October 20 to 14,046. However, since then, these cases showed an upward trend, and on October 31 the figures stood at 20,093, according to official data.
In this period, the number of containment zones also got expanded from 2,724 on October 21 to 3,274 on October 31.
Other patients have right to life too
A single judge Delhi HC bench on September 22 had stayed the Delhi government’s decision. While staying the order, it had come down heavily on the Delhi govt asking whether the non-Covid-19 patients have a right to life or not.
(With agency inputs)