Delhi records over 1,000 Covid-19 cases again, positivity rate remains below 5%

However, the positivity rate remained below 5 per cent for the two consecutive days. The positivity rate stood at 4.38 per cent on Tuesday. The numbers, positivity rate, and deaths did not increase sharply during the current increase noted from mid-April onwards. The increase, experts believe, was a result of relaxation of Covid-19 norms experts say, although the sub-variant of Omicron’s BA.2 was reported from the city.

The highest number of cases recorded during the current surge was 1,656 on May 6, which is marginal as compared to the peaks of the Omicron-fuelled wave at 28,867 cases in a day on January 13 and the Delta-driven wave at 28,395 on April 20 last year. The positivity rate during both the previous waves was over 30 per cent, meaning one in three people tested for the infection had it.

The highest positivity rate reported during the current increase is 7.72 per cent on April 18 which was owing to very few tests—only 6,492 in total—being conducted on the day.

The number of deaths has also increased a little, with 17 fatalities recorded in the second half of April as compared to six deaths recorded in the first half. There have been eight deaths due to the infection reported in the first ten days of May.

The highest number of deaths recorded during the Omicron variant driven wave—when fewer hospitalisations and deaths were seen—was 45 in a day. During the Delta driven wave, 448 deaths were recorded in a single day during the peak.

Previous exposure to the virus and vaccination drive helped keep the number of people with a severe version of the coronavirus disease and deaths low during the omicron wave. Over 90 per cent of adults in Delhi have already received both doses of the vaccine.