Coronavirus in Delhi: Covid panel chief says laxity is causing surge in numbers

Many new cases are coming to light as the government emphasised on aggressive testing across Delhi.

As the number of Coronavirus cases continues to surge in the National Capital, one of the reasons that can be attributed to this increase is “the laxity in people”. A report by The Indian Express citing Dr. Mahesh Verma, head of the Delhi government’s expert committee on COVID-19, said that the rise in Coronavirus cases in the city is due to “lackadaisical attitude of the public.” According to him, the pandemic has a pattern and given the current stance, the cases are going on the higher side again. He believes that the fear of catching the viral infection, which was there in the minds of people before, has weaned off as they step out. In such cases, the numbers of confirmed Coronavirus cases are bound to increase.

He further said that people also have to remember that staying indoors is not an option anymore in order to bring the economy back on track. However, people can still be cautious, practise all guidelines, and take precautions, so the transmission of Coronavirus is reduced.

Apart from this, many new cases are coming to light as the government emphasised on aggressive testing across Delhi. COVID-19 testing in the city has been ramped up from 18,000 a day to around 37,000 a day after new cases spiked. Around 2,000 cases have been added in the city’s toll of confirmed cases in the last 24 hours, whereas 32 deaths have also been reported. According to the health ministry data, Delhi so far has reported 193,526 confirmed COVID cases. The city still has 20,543 active cases. In the last one week, the active cases in Delhi have increased by 29.4 per cent and the overall number of cases has risen by 9.29 per cent.

Meanwhile, there are many asymptomatic cases in Delhi also. Last sero survey conducted in the National Capital revealed that one-fourth of the population has been exposed to COVID-19 infection and the Delhi High Court has asked the state government to devise a strategy focusing on the surge in asymptomatic cases. In this regard, several government hospitals in Delhi are making rapid antigen tests mandatory for all patients.