The minister's remarks come as airports see a festive rush.
Delhi has seen a surge in Covid cases due to the international flights, the state's Health Minister Satyendar Jain said today as the national capital registered an alarming 86 per cent spike in fresh infections in the last 24 hours amid Omicron threat. Today's surge - 923 Covid cases - is also the highest in seven months.
"The cases have increased due to international flights. Even during the earlier wave, the cases rose with flights coming in," Mr Jain told reporters this afternoon, warning that the new variant - that has pushed nations across the world to bring in fresh curbs - is "highly infectious". The minister's remark come amid the holiday rush at the airports.
"There are many people who are testing negative at the airport and they are allowed to go home. The district authorities are in touch with them. After reaching home, they are tested again and they come out positive. In the process, they are also infecting their family members," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who earlier this week announced new restrictions for the national capital as part of the "yellow alert", had last week said that his government is fully prepared to tackle one lakh patients a day.
The "yellow alert" in the city will continue, officials said today after a DDMA meeting that was attended by the Chief Minister also. Upgrading to "amber alert" will depend on occupancy of hospital beds, the officials have said.
The national capital had seen the hospital buckling under the pressure of the second Covid wave in May and June.
Today, Delhi recorded 923 fresh infections as compared to 496 yesterday - the biggest single-day surge since May 30.
Among other big cities witnessing a surge are Mumbai and Bengaluru. While Mumbai recorded 2,510 infections, Bengaluru recorded 400 of 566 new cases.
(With inputs from PTI)