The surge in Covid cases in Delhi during the third wave of the pandemic was largely due to the Omicron variant of the virus which is highly transmissible.
Delhi logged 586 COVID-19 cases and four fatalities, while the positivity rate marginally declined to 1.37 per cent, according to data shared by the health department on Monday. With this, the national capital's caseload increased to 18,51,906 and the death toll climbed to 26,076, the latest bulletin showed.
The single-day infections reported could be lower owing to the lesser number of tests (42,797) conducted the previous day. Delhi on Sunday reported 804 cases and 12 deaths, while the positivity rate declined further to 1.50 per cent. On Saturday, it reported 920 cases with a positivity rate of 1.68 per cent and 13 deaths. It recorded 977 cases with a positivity rate of 1.73 per cent and 12 deaths on Friday.
On Thursday, the city logged 1,104 cases with a positivity rate of 2.09 per cent and 12 deaths. The number of daily cases in Delhi has been on the decline after touching the record high of 28,867 on January 13. The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the latest wave of the pandemic. It took just 10 days for daily cases to drop below the 10,000-mark.
The surge in Covid cases in Delhi during the third wave of the pandemic was largely due to the Omicron variant of the virus which is highly transmissible. Several families in a large number of neighbourhoods had tested positive, but medical experts have said that since the infection had happened at the same time, the recovery too has been quicker for the community as a whole. And there has been less chance of more spread of infection as people have been largely home isolated with a very little number of patients needing hospitalisation this time, they said.
There are 15,357 beds for Covid patients in Delhi hospitals and 490 (3.19 per cent) of them were occupied. Out of 490 patients in hospitals, 155 are on oxygen support, including 37 on ventilator. The number of people under home isolation stood at 2,361 on Monday, down from 2,590 on Sunday, and the number of containment zones in the city stood at 16,154, down from 16,997 the previous day, it said. The number of active cases was 3,416, down from 3,926 a day before.
With PTI Inputs