Delhi records 3,194 new COVID cases, highest single-day rise since 20 May; positivity rate jumps to 4.59%

New Delhi: The National Capital on Sunday reported 3,194 fresh Covid cases, the highest single-day rise since 20 May and one death while the positivity rate rose to 4.59 percent, according to data shared by the city’s health department. Under Graded Response Action Plan, approved by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, if the positivity rate is over five percent for two consecutive days a ‘Red’ alert can be sounded leading to ‘total curfew’ and halting of most economic activities. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal , comparing the present scenario with the second wave last year, said, “Today there are about 6300 active cases. There were about 6600 cases on 27 March. But then 1150 oxygen beds were occupied, whereas today only 82 beds are occupied. Then 145 ventilators were being used, today only 5 are being used. Then there were about 10 deaths every day, today there is one or no death reported in a day. The chief minister urged the Delhiites not to panic as the present COVID-19 cases in the National Capital are “very mild” in comparison to the Delta variant during the second wave during April-May 2021. Kejriwal appealed to people to stay responsible and follow COVID-appropriate norms. “There is no need to panic. Keep following COVID appropriate behaviour and be responsible. This COVID is very mild and the Delhi government is ready and stands with you,” the chief minister said. “On 29 December, 262 beds were occupied in New Delhi’s hospital by the COVID patients. On 1 January, 247 patients were admitted in total. It means the people who are getting infected with COVID, most of them are not having the need to be hospitalised. There are mild and asymptomatic cases,” he added. Presenting the statistics on the preparedness of the Delhi government, the chief minister said that there are 37,000 oxygen beds available in the city out of which only 82 oxygen beds have been occupied. “Only 82 oxygen beds are occupied in Delhi. Today we have the preparation of 37,000 beds. Only 0.22 percent of beds are occupied and 99.78 per cent of beds are unoccupied,” he said. Further, talking about the trend in the number of rising COVID-19 cases in Delhi, Kejriwal said the cases might have increased three folds in the past three days, but the need for hospitalisation remains less. Meanwhile, India reported 27,553 new COVID-19 cases and 284 deaths in the last 24 hours, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday. According to the ministry, the number of Omicron infections stands at 1,525 and it has spread to 23 states. Maharashtra is the worst-affected state with 460 cases, followed by Delhi with 351. Sunday’s tally of coronavirus cases was 17 percent higher than the 2,716 infections registered a day before. Delhi had reported 3,231 cases on 20 May last year with a positivity rate of 5.50 percent. As many as 233 deaths were recorded on that day. On Friday and Thursday, 1,796 and 1,313 cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 1.73 percent and 2.44 percent respectively, according to official figures. The daily case tally on Wednesday, Tuesday and Monday were 923, 496 and 331, respectively. The huge spike in fresh cases in the last few days in Delhi is being recorded amid a significant jump in cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus in the city. The death toll due to coronavirus in the city has risen to 25,109. The number of cumulative cases on Sunday stood at 14,54,121. Over 14.19 lakh patients have recovered from the infection. Nine COVID-19 deaths were reported in the city in December last year, and seven in November, according to official data. Delhi had recorded four Covid deaths in October and five in September. A total of 69,650 tests — 59,897 RT-PCR tests — were conducted the previous day, the bulletin said. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.