NEW DELHI: Even as there was a fall in daily cases, Delhi on Thursday logged 43 Covid-19 deaths, the highest since June 10 last year, when the infection had led to 44 single-day fatalities. Another area of concern is hospitalisation as seen in a 34 per cent increase when compared to the data of January 10. On the previous Monday, a total of 1,999 patients were admitted while 2,698 patients were admitted on Thursday. As per the latest health bulletin, 844 patients were in ICU, 903 on oxygen support while another 152 on ventilator support.
“Most of the patients were above the age of 60 and were facing severe comorbid conditions including chronic kidney diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.,” Dr Ritu Saxena, Deputy Director of Lok Nayak Hospital, said explaining the increased number of fatalities. However, the government is yet to ascertain the age group in which the 43 patients died, said an official working with the health department.
On Thursday, 12,306 fresh cases were reported while the positivity rate stood at 21.48 per cent. The single-day rise in infections has been on a decline over the last five days, except for Thursday. The number of fresh cases were 10.72 per cent lower than Thursday’s 13,785 cases. Total active cases stand at 68,730. While the positivity rate went down from Thursday’s 23.86 per cent to 21.48 per cent, the number of tests decreased only marginally to 57,290 — 43,447 (RT-PCR tests) and 13,843 (RAT).
Meanwhile, the number of patients in home isolation also decreased to 53,593 from Thursday’s 58,501 cases. A total of 40,756 containment zones in the city, said the health bulletin. Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the peak of third Covid wave seems to be over but he also cautioned restrain. “The numbers have come down to 22-24% from 30%; it has reduced but it is not so low that we can open up everything. Hopefully, the numbers will decline as fast as it went up. We have to wait and watch.”
