Delhi again records over 5,000 new Covid-19 cases, 34,186 cases added in last 7 days

There are 3,274 containment zones in the Capital and over 20,000 people are under home isolation at present.

Delhi recorded 5,062 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, which is a slight dip from the number of new cases being reported from Wednesday, but the higher positivity rate in the city indicates that the Capital is experiencing a new wave of Covid-19 infections. On Friday, Delhi reported 5,891 new cases — the highest single-day number of all time. The government health bulletin revealed that 41 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours. Over 44,000 people have been tested in the same period of time.

There are 3,274 containment zones in the Capital and over 20,000 people are under home isolation at present.

The sudden spike in the number of daily cases after a period when Delhi was believed to have tackled Covid-19 effectively has become a cause of worry. The Centre has called for a meeting on Monday to discuss the issue.

The spike began on Wednesday when Delhi crossed the 5,000-mark for the first time with 5,673 new cases in a span of 24 hours. On Thursday, Delhi recoded 5,739 cases and on Friday, the number stood at 5,891. On Tuesday, Delhi had logged 4,853 cases, which was its highest single-day tally since 4,473 on September 16. Though Saturday’s number is lower than the previous three days, the positivity rate is high — at least 11 per cent of all tests in the past 24 hours returned positive results.

The number of total cases in the Capital stands at 3,86,706. Out of this, 34,185 cases have been added in last one week.

Here is a date-wise data of new cases reported in Delhi during the past one week

October 25: 4,136

October 26: 2,832

October 27: 4,853

October 28: 5,673

October 29: 5,739

October 30: 5,891

October 31: 5,062

Why cases are rising in Delhi

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain has blamed pollution, the onset of winter and the rising pollution for the sudden rise in the number of cases. “It’s a combined effect of the festive season, decrease in temperature and increased pollution. Experts had also suggested that at this time Covid-19 cases could rise,” Jain said on Saturday.

Third Covid-19 wave in Delhi?

Jain had earlier said that it can be concluded whether Delhi has entered the third wave of Covid-19 cases after examining the numbers of a week. But he had hinted that the possibility could not be overruled. The peak of the second wave in Delhi was during mid-September when it reported 4,174 average cases every day. The current trajectory is far above that.