Delhi / Delhi's COVID cases almost double in 1 day as over 10,000 cases recorded

New Delhi: COVID-19 cases surged massively in Delhi again on Wednesday, with the city reporting more than 10,000 cases. A city government health department bulletin said a total of 10,665 fresh coronavirus cases were recorded over the past 24 hours. The city also reported 8 deaths over the same period.

Delhi now has 23,307 active cases. The positivity rate in the city has surged to 11.88 per cent.

Wednesday’s daily spike is the highest since May 12. Also, 8 deaths reported today too is the highest single-day fatality figure since June 26.

Yesterday, Delhi had reported 5,481 fresh coronavirus cases along with 3 deaths.

The Delhi government has already imposed a weekend curfew in the national capital to restrict the spread of the contagion, especially in view of the fast-spreading Omicron variant. Night curfew and curbs under the Yellow Alert are already in effect in Delhi.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia yesterday said the decision to impose weekend curfew was taken by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) yesterday in the wake of the fresh surge in Covid-19 infections.

As per the order, on weekdays, government employees, barring those engaged in essential services, will have to work from home. Private offices can continue to function with 50 per cent capacity.

Further, buses and Metro trains are being allowed to run at their full seating capacity so that there is no overcrowding at bus stops and Metro stations.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had asked the public not to panic, stating that they should not view weekend curfew as a lockdown. Jain today said that Delhi was in the midst of the third wave of coronavirus pandemic.

Delhi: Jump in hospital admissions

Meanwhile, official figures showed that there has been a jump in admissions to hospitals and Covid care centres amid the spike in daily cases. Officials were reported as saying that there were 140 new admissions to hospitals in the city on January 3 and 222 on January 4. Such figures were last seen during the second wave in April-May last year.

As per data, the number of Covid patients in hospitals in Delhi jumped from 247 on January 1 to 531 on January 4. Meanwhile, there has also been an increase in the number of patients on oxygen support, from 94 to 168 in the last three days. There are currently 14 patients on ventilator support.

Some other figures as of Tuesday: 8,511 beds vacant in city hospitals; 4,223 vacant beds in Covid care centres; 139 beds vacant in dedicated Covid health centres; 8,593 patients in home isolation.