23 more Covid deaths, 21.2K fresh cases; positivity 25.65%
New Delhi: The Capital on Tuesday reported 23 COVID-19 fatalities in 24 hours, the highest since June 16 last year, and the positivity rate rose to 25.65 per cent even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the spread of the virus was seemingly slowing down.
According to data shared by the health department, 21,259 cases were reported on Tuesday, the highest single-day infection since May 1. Significantly, 93 Covid patients have died in Delhi in the first 11 days of January.
Noting that it is difficult to predict when the third wave of infections will peak, Kejriwal said, "I hope that this trend (of spread slowing down) will continue for the near future and the COVID spread comes down. At present, barely 1,500-2,000 hospital beds have been occupied by COVID patients and the rest are in home isolation."
The number of daily cases has been oscillating between 20,000 and 22,000 for three days with a positivity rate of 24 per cent to 25 per cent, but "it doesn't mean that cases won't increase", the chief minister said.
Delhi reported 17 fatalities each on Sunday and Monday. It recorded 54 deaths in the last five months -- nine in December, seven in November, four in October, five in September and 29 in August. In July, the virus had claimed 76 lives in the capital.
After reviewing the situation at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, Kejriwal said only six patients had come to the health facility for treatment of Covid, and added that infections during the third surge are "very mild" as compared to the deadly wave in April last year.
"Though the number of cases has been rising, hospitalisations have remained very low so far. The number of deaths is also less. But we are prepared for any eventuality," he said, adding that the Delhi government is preparing to ramp up oxygen bed capacity to 50,000 and ICU bed capacity to over 12,000 in the coming weeks.
The significant bed escalation has been planned after considering mathematical models that predicted the peak of the third wave at around 35,000-70,000 cases per day. However, the models have also predicted that the peak could come as soon as in the next few days.
While the DDMA has imposed stricter guidelines, asking all private offices to direct their staff to work-from-home to reduce the number of people stepping out of their homes, officials and experts have said that the restrictions won't mean much unless other NCR districts also enforce them.
Speaking on this, Chief Minister Kejriwal said that he had spoken to representatives of the Union government, who have now assured the Delhi government that they will strictly enforce Covid-related curbs in their respective jurisdictions as they have been imposed in Delhi.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government said that over 22,200 people in the city had taken the third dose of the Covid vaccine on Tuesday. Of these, 7,010 were healthcare workers, 9,172 were frontline workers and 6,083 were senior citizens above the age of 60.
