Delhi has reported an increase in coronavirus cases in the past few days. (File)
New Delhi:
With Delhi reporting a spike in COVID-19 infections and a positivity rate approaching 20%, Deputy Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday said those who have taken the booster dose of the vaccine are safer from coronavirus infection than those who have taken the booster dose. the others.
On a day when the city reported 917 new cases and 3 deaths in the past 24 hours, Mr. Sisodia held a meeting with senior Health Department officials and county judges to promote vaccination. The increased cases have also increased hospitalizations, prompting authorities to require new masks to be worn and compliance with COVID-19 precautions.
“90% of hospitalized Corona patients are patients who received only two doses of the vaccine. At the same time, only 10% of patients become infected with Corona after the third dose. It clearly shows that those who do It is safer to use preventive doses when infected with corona”, said the deputy minister.
Chief of Staff Naresh Kumar, who was also present at the meeting, directed district magistrates to conduct checks on the condition of vaccination camps set up in crowded places such as subway stations, markets and malls. commercial.
Mr Sisodia said the Delhi government is closely monitoring the coronavirus situation and has upgraded their medical infrastructure.
“With that, all hospitals have also been asked to stay on alert. However, now people are also being careless and it can be seen that many people have not taken precautions,” he said. .
Earlier that day, Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena of Delhi tweeted: “We are seeing an increase in COVID-19 infections, persistently high levels of positive and reinfection cases. Essential. is that we have to realize that the pandemic is far from over. I urge everyone to strictly adhere to COVID-appropriate Behavior. We cannot afford to lose our guard.”
Public health expert Dr. Suneela Garg, a member of the Lancet Commission, told NDTV, “Recovery rates are good, but cases are increasing and hospitalizations have increased. More than 500 (Covid) beds are currently occupied out of 9,000. Out of 20 of the 2,129 ICU beds are occupied. 65 patients are on ventilators at the moment.”
“There’s no need to panic, but this is a warning sign,” she added.
Delhi on Monday reported 1,227 new COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 14.57%, along with eight deaths, according to data shared by the health ministry.
Previously, the city recorded more than 2,000 cases per day for 12 consecutive days.
Despite the positive rate increase, the city government has yet to announce the implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) released by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.
The GRAP, which went into effect last August, lists measures the government will take in terms of positive rates and bed occupancy to lock and unlock various activities.
Delhi reported an all-time high for daily COVID-19 cases of 28,867 on January 13 and a positivity rate of 30.6% a day later in the third wave of the pandemic.
