Delhi Logs 295 New Daily Covid Cases. No Need To Panic, Says Government

Delhi recorded 295 fresh Covid cases on Thursday with a positivity rate of 12.48 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.

On Wednesday, the city had logged 300 cases, the first time since August 31, and two deaths while the positivity rate had mounted to 13.89 per cent.

Delhi had logged 214 cases with a positivity rate of 11.82 per cent on Tuesday, 115 cases with a positivity rate of 7.45 per cent on Monday, 153 cases with a positivity rate of 9.13 per cent on Sunday and 139 cases with a positivity rate of 4.98 per cent on Saturday.

The Delhi government is closely monitoring the coronavirus situation, Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said, adding that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will hold a review meeting on the matter on Friday.

Mr Bharadwaj also assured people that there was no need to panic since the hospitalisation rate was low. The heath minister held a meeting on the coronavirus situation on Thursday.

Delhi has witnessed an increase in the number of fresh Covid cases over the last few days amid a sharp rise in the figure of H3N2 influenza cases in the country.

The number of fresh cases had seen a decline over the last few months in Delhi. It had dropped to zero on January 16, the first time since the pandemic broke out.

With the fresh cases, Delhi's Covid tally has increased to 20,09,656, while the death count due to the infection stands at 26,526.

The data also showed that 2,363 Covid tests were conducted on Wednesday.

Sixty-six of the 7,986 beds are occupied in dedicated Covid hospitals in the city, while 575 patients are in home isolation, the health department said. The number of active cases of the infection currently stands at 932, it added.

Amid a gradual increase in the number of Covid cases in Delhi, medical experts say the new XBB.1.16 variant of the virus could be driving the surge.

However, they maintain that there is no need to panic and people should follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and get booster shots of the vaccines.

They also say this rise in the number of cases could be a result of more people getting themselves tested for Covid as a precaution when they actually get infected with the influenza virus and develop fever and related symptoms.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said the rise in the number of influenza cases is due to the Influenza A sub-type H3N2 virus.

The H3N2 virus is leading to more hospitalisations than the other sub-types. The symptoms include a runny nose, persistent cough and fever. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)