Covid-19 positivity rate in Delhi now 6.46 per cent; inching towards Amber alert

Covid-19 update stock illustration. (Source: iStock)


The national capital on Monday recorded 4,099 fresh cases of Covid-19 out of 63,477 tests conducted across the city, according to the Delhi
government’s latest health bulletin. Compared to the coronavirus cases identified yesterday, there was an increase of 28 per cent in the
virus infections.

One patient lost his life due to Covid-19. This was the third death this month— one reported on 1 January and one on 2 January.

The positivity rate too jumped to 6.46 per cent from 3.64 per cent on Sunday, crossing the point of 5 per cent and calling for the
imposition of the Amber alert (Level 2 alert) under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) if the figure remains beyond 5 per cent for two days consecutively.

Delhi is already under the Yellow alert (Level 1 alert) with different kinds of curbs imposed and a night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am.

The Amber alert means restaurants and bars will be closed, but home delivery or takeaway will be allowed. Private offices will be allowed
to operate at a 50 per cent capacity between 9 am to 5 pm.

When this level of alert is imposed, the Delhi Metro may be asked to operate its services at 33 per cent capacity with no standing
passengers.

Only two passengers will be allowed in auto-rickshaws and cabs, and busses will run at a 50 per cent capacity.

Schools, colleges, sports complexes, cinema halls, spas, banquets and marriage halls will be ordered closed.

Shops and other commercial establishments providing non-essential goods and services and malls will be allowed to open in accordance
with an odd-even formula from 10 am to 6 pm.

Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said, “Despite a spike in coronavirus cases, the situation is under control. Most of the
patients this time are not having severe infection and do not require hospitalisation.”

He informed the Delhi Assembly today that according to the genome sequencing reports concerning Covid-19 cases of 30-31 December, 84 per
cent samples were infected with Omicron.

These reports were received from three labs at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital and the National Centre for Disease Control.

According to the health bulletin, Covid-19 patients occupied 420 beds out of 9,029 hospital beds meant for such patients.

The hospitalised patients put on oxygen support numbered 124 and seven remained on ventilator support.

As many as 6,288 patients were being treated as home isolation cases and the count of active cases was10,986.

The people who got vaccinated during the past 24 hours were 23,614 and 9,164 of them were those who got their first vaccine dose. The
cumulative number of vaccinated persons with one dose was 1,52,66,525 and with both doses was 1,12,05,712, the health bulletin added.