Positivity rate not low enough to lift curbs: Health Minister Satyendar Jain

Delhi health minister Jain adds that restrictions will be relaxed when rate comes down to half of current 23.86%
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain (File photo | PTI)
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain (File photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI: Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said that the positivity rate in the city was not low enough to lift the restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the infection and that the government would monitor the situation for three to four more days. Delhi recorded 13,785 fresh Covid cases along with 35 fatalities and a positivity rate of 23.86 per cent on Wednesday.

Jain said the positivity rate had come down from the last week when it was 30 per cent but to ease restrictions it should be half. The Health Minister said: “It is not low enough to lift all curbs suddenly. The rate should be half of it. We will monitor the situation closely for the next three-four days.”

The number of fresh cases and positivity rate were higher than Tuesday’s numbers when 11,684 cases and 22.47 per cent positivity rate were reported. While the cases and positivity rate increased, the number of fatalities came down to 35, three less than Tuesday. According to health officials, those who died suffered from comorbid conditions.

“This is the after effect of the Covid peak and it has been the same in the first two waves as well. Whenever the cases peak, the number of deaths remains high for the next seven to eight days,” said an official. Meanwhile, a total of 57,776 tests were conducted on Wednesday, out of which, 44,737 were RT-PCR tests and 13,039 were rapid antigen tests. The number of tests marginally increased from Tuesday when 52,002 tests were conducted.

As per the health bulletin released by the Delhi government, the number of daily hospitalisations has been the same for the last two days. On Wednesday, 2,734 patients were hospitalised and 2,730 hospitalised on Tuesday. Out of these numbers, 147 were on ventilators, 908 on oxygen beds, and 855 on ICU beds.
A total of 58,501 patients were in home isolation and a total of 75,282 active cases were reported, said the health bulletin.

A total of 39,489 containment zones were reported in the city, out of which the maximum number were located in South Delhi and West Delhi.

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