1,652 new cases and 8 deaths; positivity rate falls below 10%

New Delhi: Delhi recorded eight more Covid-related fatalities and 1,652 new cases on Wednesday even as the positivity rate came down below 10 per cent after more than a fortnight, according to data shared by the city health department.

The positivity rate in Delhi declined to 9.92 percent on Wednesday. The capital had on Tuesday reported 917 COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 19.20 per cent and three deaths due to the infection. With this, Delhi's caseload went up to 19,88,391 and the death toll to 26,400, it said. The fresh cases came out of 16,658 tests, the health department's latest bulletin said. On Monday, the capital had reported 1,227 cases with a positivity rate of 14.57 per cent, while eight more people died due to the disease.

Before this, the city logged more than 2,000 cases daily for 12 consecutive days. Delhi on Sunday reported 2,162 cases with a positivity rate of 12.64 per cent and five fatalities. On Saturday, it logged nine deaths due to COVID-19 and 2,031 cases with a positivity rate of 12.34 per cent.

On Friday, it saw 10 deaths, the highest in six months, and 2,136 cases with a positivity rate of 15.02 per cent. The national capital recorded 12 deaths due to COVID-19 on February 13.

Meanwhile, there has been a nearly two-fold increase in hospitalisations in over a fortnight, with officials saying those with comorbidities are getting admitted to hospitals.

Even though the rise in infections and hospitalisations is not yet alarming, experts have reiterated the need to wear masks and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. Of the 9,405 available beds for coronavirus patients in Delhi, 307 (3.26 per cent) were occupied on August 1. The occupancy rate was 3.75 per cent on August 2 and four per cent the day after. It kept on rising on most days thereafter and stood at 6.24 per cent on August 16.

The bed occupancy rate was five per cent on August 6 and 5.97 per cent on August 11. The occupancy rate was 6.13 per cent on August 12 and declined marginally to 5.99 per cent the next day. It rose to 6.21 per cent on August 14 and stood at 6.31 per cent on August 15. Dr Vikas Maurya, Director and HOD, Pulmonology, Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh, said in the last one week or so, they are observing a rise in hospital admissions due to the viral infection.

"Most of the patients are those who have multiple comorbidities and some of them are also unvaccinated. Some patients also have had lung involvement, which meant that they required anti-viral treatment and other Covid drugs," he added.