NEW DELHI: Delhi recorded 6,725 new cases of Covid-19 - its highest single-day tally - on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases to over 400,000 even as hospitals struggled to accommodate the critically ill patients due to paucity of ICU beds.
The 6,725 fresh cases came out of 59,540 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, the government said.
This is the first time when the number of daily cases has crossed the 6,000-mark in Delhi.
Earlier, on October 30, the city had reported a high of 5,891 cases. Forty-eight new fatalities were recorded on Tuesday, pushing the toll in the capital to 6,652.
The medical director of Lok Nayak Hospital, Dr Suresh Kumar, said the spike in daily cases has led to a rise in demand for hospital beds. "We are getting 90 to 100 new Covid-19 patients daily over the past 2-3 days. In August, we were getting less than 30 patients daily," he added.
City’s positivity rate of 11.3% four times India avg
Lok Nayak Hospital, which is run by the Delhi government, has 2,000 beds for Covid-19 patients, of which 200 have ventilators attached. Only 11 ventilators were available on Tuesday.
Overall, data shared by the hospitals showed that 68% of ventilator beds and 70% of ICU beds without ventilators were occupied. “The situation is grave. New cases are increasing and many people are still not following any preventive measures. This can lead to a spiralling effect in the next four to six weeks as the infection spreads further in communities," said Dr S K Sarin, director of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences.
The positivity rate — number of positive cases among those tested — in Delhi is 11.3% at present, nearly four times the rate in the country. The case fatality rate is 1.7% which is also higher than the national average of 1.5%.
Critical care specialist Dr Shrikanth Srinivasan of Manipal Hospital said Delhi is facing the double impact of a Covid-19 outbreak and increased air pollution, both leading to an increase in severe symptoms among those infected. “Social-distancing norms, hand hygiene and wearing of masks should be strictly adhered to. Early testing and seeking appropriate healthcare are paramount and could make the difference between life and death,” he said.
According to Dr Priyadarshini Pal Singh, who heads emergency and critical care at Apollo Hospital, delay in admission is one of the reasons behind the rise in critical illness due to Covid. "If someone has Covid-19 symptoms, for example fever, cough or difficulty in breathing, s/he should get tested immediately. Even those under home isolation should be under medical supervision," she said.
Dr Singh said deterioration of symptoms could be very sudden in the novel coronavirus. “Covid-19 is known to cause happy hypoxia, an unusual complication portrayed by low oxygen level in blood without obvious breathing difficulty.”
On Monday, the Union home ministry held a review meeting to assess the deteriorating situation in the national capital and decided on a series of measures, including targeted RT-PCR testing in critical zones like marketplaces, restaurants, salons and barber shops to control the spread of the disease. It was also felt that Delhi Metro travel needs to be regulated strictly in line with the laid-down standard operating procedure.