NEW DELHI: As Covid numbers continue to spiral in Delhi, the worrying factor is that children are also getting infected and the number of patients being admitted to hospitals is increasing as well. Two patients were reported to be in the ICU ward of a government hospital.
On Friday, the city reported 1,797 fresh cases a 35 per cent jump in fresh cases over the previous day’s tally of 1,323 and two fatalities, while positivity rate soared to 8.18%, according to the Delhi government’s Covid-19 bulletin.
The city now has 4,843 active cases, a total of 2,850 patients were in home isolation. In Lok Nayak Hospital, the Delhi government’s largest Covid-dedicated facility, 10 new patients were admitted on Friday, taking the total number to 31, said officials at the hospital.
As per the bulletin, 196 patients are admitted in hospitals across the capital. While the cases are increasing along with the hospitalisation rate, doctors said the situation is in control as there have been no new symptoms so far. “When people become careless and relaxed, the cases are bound to increase,” said Dr Ritu Saxena, Deputy Director, Lok Nayak Hospital.
However, Dr Jugal Kishore, Head of Community Medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, expressed fear that a new variant may have entered the city, as was the case with Mumbai. “The increase in numbers is also because of the relaxed Covid-19 norms and people showing laxity in following protocols. These things make situations favourable for transmission and since Omicron is a highly transmissible variant, the numbers will keep going up and down,” added Kishore.
Friday was the third consecutive day that Delhi recorded over 1,300 cases in a day. The capital has logged more than 1,000 daily cases for the fourth day on the trot. The city recorded 1,323 cases on Thursday, 1,375 on Wednesday, and 1,118 on Tuesday. With the fresh cases, Delhi’s tally has increased to 19,19,025 while the death toll has gone up to 26,226, the health department said in its latest bulletin.
Going up
Friday was the third consecutive day that Delhi clocked over 1,300 cases
