Coronavirus / Delhi reports over 15,000 new COVID cases, positivity rate reaches 15%

New Delhi: Delhi on Thursday reported 15,097 fresh Covid-19 infections, registering a 41% increase from Wednesday when the national capital recorded 10,665 positive cases. The positivity rate in the city shot up to 15.34%. Six deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours. Earlier in the day, health minister Satyendar Jain said Delhi was expected to record around 14,000 fresh Covid cases.

Here are the top 10 developments of Delhi's Covid-19 situation:

1. Thursday's spike is the highest single-day spike since May 8, 2021, when 17,364 cases were reported with a positivity rate of 23.34 per cent. As many as 332 deaths were also recorded on that day.

2. Health minister Satyendar Jain said the healthcare situation in the national capital is better now, in comparison with the previous waves. No death due to the Omicron variant has been confirmed in the national Capital.

3. The minister also said that the increase in the number owes to the large number of tests being carried out every day. "If we don't do that, the new cases can reduce to 500-1,000. A lot of people (states) don't conduct tests and say they don't have cases. We have been transparent," he said.

4. A few healthcare workers in Delhi have tested positive for Covid-19, but the number is not alarming, the government said.

5. The government said there will be no further augmentation in restrictions. Night curfew and weekend curfew are sufficient for the time being.

6. As on January 6, there are 5,148 containment zones in the city.

7. A total of 1,091 patients are admitted to the hospitals including 87 patients who are Covid suspect cases. A total of 24 patients are on ventilator support.

8. Delhi government is prepared for the worst-case scenario and the number of beds has been increased from over 9,000 to over 12,000.

9. Two marketplaces --Sonia Vihar 2nd Pushta Market and Mukund Vihar Market in Karawal Nagar -- have been shut down for violating Covid norms.

10. Delhi is already witnessing a fresh wave of the pandemic and Omicron, the possible cause of the surge, has been spreading in the community, the health minister said earlier.