Delhi’s Covid Positivity Nears 20%, Govt Says 90% of Those Hospitalised Didn’t Take Booster

Delhi has been witnessing a fresh Covid-19 surge with a staggering positivity rate of nearly 20 per cent. Amid the spike, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that 90% of the Covid patients hospitalised in Delhi have not taken a precautionary dose, indicating how a booster shot was crucial in keeping the virus at bay.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Tuesday cautioned people against lowering their guard, saying that the pandemic was far from over and that people should adhere to Covid-appropriate norms.

“We are witnessing a rise in Covid-19 infections, consistently high positivity, and cases of reinfection. It is essential that we realise that the pandemic is far from over. I appeal to all to strictly adhere to Covid Appropriate Behaviour. We cannot afford to let our guards down,” Saxena tweeted.

The national capital on Tuesday reported 917 Covid cases, which is a dip from Monday’s daily tally of 1,227. The Covid positivity rate on Tuesday, however, was a whopping 19.20 per cent. Delhi also reported three deaths today, according to data shared by the city’s health department. With the fresh infections and fatalities, Delhi’s caseload went up to 19,86,739 and the death toll to 26,392, it said.

Tuesday’s daily Covid tally was a welcome change from the over 2,000 cases that Delhi was reporting over the last 12 days. The national capital on Sunday reported 2,162 cases with a positivity rate of 12.64 per cent and five fatalities.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had last week said though the cases were on the rise, there was no need to panic as most of them were mild in nature. Despite the rise in the positivity rate, the government is yet to implement the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) devised by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority since hospital admissions are low.

The number of daily Covid-19 cases in Delhi touched the record high of 28,867 on January 13 this year during the third wave of the pandemic, which was primarily driven by the Omicron strain. The city recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the third wave.

(With inputs from PTI)

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