NEW DELHI: Delhi reported 17 COVID-19 deaths on Sunday, the maximum in a day since the onset of the third wave in the wake of the Omicron spread and more than double the fatality count a day before. The previous highest daily death count of 23 was reported on June 13 last year.
The fresh cases soared to 22,751, while the positivity rate on Sunday was 23.53 per cent. Delhi has seen 53 deaths in the first nine days of this month - nearly as high as the cumulative fatality count of past five months. (See box)
According to doctors, however, there is no need to panic as a majority of the deceased patients were suffering from serious co-morbid conditions. "Most patients are dying because of co-morbid conditions. This is like a community spread where the already-ill patients, with some or the other disorders or cancer surgeries, acquire infection easily and die. These people are also labeled under the COVID deaths. If the cases keep rising like this, people who are in hospitals due to other reasons may also catch the infection and die which can further push up the toll," said a senior doctor of Delhi government's Lok Nayak Hospital.
Dr Sanjay Rai, community medicine, AIIMS, said, "It is difficult to say that all these 17 deaths took place because of COVID-19. The situation is not worrisome if we compare it with last year. It is self-explanatory that 90 per cent of the beds are vacant in the hospitals."
Dr Jugal Kishore, HOD, Medicine, Safdarjung Hospital, said there may be many reasons for the rise in deaths but fatalities were not likely to be very high. "Reasons could be pre-existing conditions, a patient getting panic attack or the kind of care given in a hospital," he added.
CM Arvind Kejriwal, too, said, there was no need to panic. "...The deaths reported this year are less... When we overcame last year's dangerous wave, then we can easily overcome this wave as well," said.