NEW DELHI: Delhi on Wednesday reported 40 Covid-19 deaths, a sharp jump from the previous day’s toll of 23 and the highest since June 10, 2021, when 44 fatalities were recorded. A record single-day rise of fresh cases was also reported with 27,561 people testing positive. This is the highest since April 20 last year when 28,395 cases were registered in the city.
The number of fatalities has seen a five-time increase in the last week. On January 5, eight deaths had been reported in the capital. However, doctors, as well as the government, continue to maintain that the fatalities are being seen only in patients with serious comorbid conditions such as chronic kidney disease, cancer and diabetes.
While health minister Satyendra Jain on Wednesday morning stated that the Covid-19 situation in the city appeared to have stabilised and could peak in two-three days, doctors said it was still a little early to comment on that. Dr Sanjay Rai, Professor at Centre for Community Medicine, said it would be too early to say cases had peaked in the city. “We will have to wait for two-three more days to make a prediction. Earlier, we had expected that the peak would come between January 15 and 20. So, let’s wait and watch,”
he said.
Dr Rai, however, said that the numbers had shown an uptick despite the restrictions imposed, which was the case during the previous wave, too. “Even during the first lockdown, 3,000-5,000 cases were being reported in June 2020. There is sufficient evidence to justify that restriction do not stop the virus,” he added.
According to Deputy Medical Director of Lok Nayak Hospital, Dr Ritu Saxena, the peak of Covid-19 cases will come by next week following a plateau and by the end of the month, the downward trend will start. “Since the positivity rate is still high and it is difficult to break the cycle of new cases, the numbers will increase in the next week and will reach a plateau after which a decline will begin,” said Dr Saxena.
At 87,445, the number of active cases also witnessed an eight-month high. The previous highest tally was on May 8 last year. According to the Delhi government’s health bulletin, 91 patients were on ventilator support and 618 on ICU beds on Wednesday. A total of 2,363 patients were hospitalised of which 739, including those on ventilators, were on oxygen support beds.
Five-fold jump in deaths in last one week
The number of fatalities has seen a five-time increase in the last week. On January 5, eight deaths had been reported in the capital. However, the government continue to maintain that the fatalities are being seen only in patients with serious comorbid conditions diabetes