NEW DELHI: As the Covid numbers in the national capital are once again inching up, with more cases of the new highly virulent Omicron variant also being reported every day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced that every Covid-positive sample will be sent for genome sequencing to determine which variant is on the rise.
He also requested the Centre to allow administration of booster doses for fully vaccinated individuals even as he appealed to citizens not to panic.
On Monday, 91 new Covid-19 cases were reported in the city, including six of Omicron, taking the total number of patients who have tested positive for the new variant to 28, while 12 patients admitted earlier have been discharged, health officials said.
Delhi’s Covid-19 positivity also rose to 0.2 per cent, an increase of 0.03 per cent from Sunday when the positivity rate was 0.17 per cent. Active cases in Delhi have breached the 500-mark for the first time in over four months.
The daily rise of Covid-positive cases has witnessed a sharp spike since last Wednesday when 57 fresh cases were recorded.
The numbers jumped to a four-month high of 85 on Thursday. The numbers dipped on Friday with 69 fresh cases, but again rose to 86 on Saturday and further to 107 on Sunday.
While 61,905 tests were conducted on Sunday, the number of tests dropped to 46,193 the next day. This could be the reason behind the dip in the number of positive cases on Monday, said officials.
No death was recorded on Monday. Kejriwal said he is personally monitoring the situation and there is no need to panic.
“It spreads fast, but is mild in nature,” he added.