Delhi news live: More Covid cases among youth, kids in city

With the new academic session for schools set to begin, a certain confusion regarding offline classes for students promoted to classes X and XII is bothering many. While some private schools have decided that classes would continue in the online mode due to the rise in the number of fresh Covid cases, other schools have called in students for offline classes.

A month after recording its second-warmest February in 120 years, the capital endured its warmest March since 2010. The mean maximum temperature was at 33.1°C — 3.5°C above normal; the figure was at 34.1°C 11 years ago, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Despite as many as five western disturbances and a bit of rain last month, its latter half saw the mercury rise sharply, crossing 41°C in many parts of the city this Monday — the warmest March day since 1945.

Private hospitals on Wednesday received permission from the Haryana health department to set up Covid-19 vaccination camps on office premises from April1, a shot in the arm for hundreds of Indian and global companies headquartered in the city that can get eligible employees inoculated against the virus. Vaccination camps on office premises were proposed by the Gurgaon health department at the district task force meeting last week. On Thursday, Medanta will hold a session site at the Industrial Association building in Sector 37, where it aims to inoculate 200 recipients. From April 5, other private hospitals like Max, Artemis and Fortis will also begin similar drives. While Artemis will set up camps at the Apollo Tyres office on Monday, Fortis will conduct the drive on Tuesday for Panasonic, Jindal Steel, Coforge, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters.

From Thursday, everyone aged above 45 will be able to get the Covid-19 vaccine at 500 vaccination centres spread across 192 hospitals in the city. Advance booking on the Co-Win portal has already started and the government expects a huge jump in turnout. Increasing the coverage will also strengthen the fight against the novel coronavirus, which is crucial due to the recent surge in cases. Health minister Satyendar Jain said, “Vaccination is being started on a large scale from Thursday. Those eligible can get the shots from 9am till 9pm. Delhi has a large number of people aged above 45. The government wants to cover all of them as soon as possible. Delhi has a sufficient stock of the vaccine. Some hospitals even have 10 vaccination centres.”

Delhi has got an additional 1,072 Covid beds, including 230 ICU beds and 842 normal Covid beds, in the wake of a surge in Covid cases. The beds have been added in 33 private hospitals after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reviewed the situation. Only 25% of the existing beds are currently occupied but the government has made advance arrangements because Delhi also receives patients from outside. Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and other big states are also reporting a surge in Covid cases. In reaction to a question, health minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said that the decision on whether those coming from states with a heavy Covid caseload would require a Covid negative report to come to Delhi, was still being discussed. There is no clarity on whether the government is planning to make negative Covid report mandatory for entering Delhi. Currently, random Covid tests are being done at the airport, bus terminals and railway stations to test those coming from states reporting a surge in Covid cases.

Based on the latest guidelines issued by Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), domestic passengers arriving from high-risk states at Indira Gandhi International Airport will be randomly tested for Covid-19. “After collection of the samples, the passengers will be allowed to exit. However, those found positive shall be mandatorily quarantined either at their place of stay, a government facility or at a hospital, according to the Union ministry of health and family welfare protocol,” said the Delhi airport in a statement.

Early trends suggest that the novel coronavirs is affecting youth and children in larger numbers this time compared with the previous peak reported in Delhi in August and November last year. The morbidity and mortality due to infection, however, continue to be higher among the elderly and those with pre-existing comorbidities. “Younger people are going out a lot. They feel even if they are infected, it will only cause mild symptoms,” said Dr Randeep Guleria, director, AIIMS. He added that it was important to realise that the youngsters could become super-spreaders if they do not follow Covid-appropriate behaviour while going out, and eventually lead to more cases among the high-risk groups.