Delhi records 3,846 new Covid-19 cases, 235 deaths

NEW DELHI: Delhi recorded 3,846 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the third day in a row that the figure remained below 5,000-mark.
The fresh cases were reported from 66,573 tests carried out in the last 24 hours, with a positivity rate of 5.78%, which is the lowest since April 6. The number of Covid-19 fatalities remained high at 235.

Delhi’s health minister Satyendar Jain said that ever since the lockdown was imposed again, a downward trend in cases can be seen, which is a hopeful sign. He said that cases have dropped from 28,000 per day to less than 5,000 now.
“We cannot afford complacency and must follow Covid-appropriate behaviour by all means,” Jain said at a press meet. “Even though the situation is slightly better currently, our target should be lowering the trend further to 2%, and certainly proceeding to 0%. Nonetheless, we cannot say anything concrete about when the lockdown will be lifted at this stage,” he added.
With 9,427 patients recovering from Covid-19 on Tuesday, more than double the number of new cases reported in the last 24 hours, the number of active cases stood at 45,047, compared with 50,863 on Tuesday. The steady dip in Covid-19 cases and positivity rate has also resulted in hospitals in Delhi seeing fewer new admissions compared with the number of patients getting discharged since May 13. On Tuesday, 1,326 patients got discharged, while the number of new admissions was 806.
With more people recovering from the disease every day than the number of new cases reported, the number of active cases have dipped by 54.8% from the all-time high number of 99,725 reported on April 28 to 45,047 on Wednesday. Out of these active cases, 31,197 patients are recuperating in home isolation.
Delhi government’s health bulletin said the number of patients admitted in hospitals is 13,368 and 10,921 beds out of the total 24,289 Covid beds are vacant. Out of the total 6,811 ICU beds, 5,465 were occupied and 1,346 vacant at 9pm on Wednesday, according to the government’s corona dashboard.
Meanwhile, Jain said that more cases were reported from the rural belt of the city, such as areas in southwest district. “We had increased the tests in the district, wherein 10-12,000 tests were being done in a single day,” adding that of late, cases from rural areas have also been on the decline.
Jain also said that while plasma convalescent therapy has been dropped from the specific methodology of Covid treatment, it can be initiated on the suggestion of doctors. “It depends on case-to-case basis, and will be done only after the recommendation of a doctor,” he added.
“The recent wave was an unprecedented one, and it spread at a very fast pace, which became detrimental for us. Now, if we are informed about the third wave, we will certainly prepare for it through our efficient policy making,” the minister said.