Delhi has second most active cases after Maharashtra

NEW DELHI: The daily count of fresh Covid-19 cases in the city crossed the 2,000 mark for the second consecutive day on Saturday, with 2,134 more people testing positive. With this, the total number of cases till date in Delhi has reached 38,958, third highest in the country after Maharashtra (1,04,568) and Tamil Nadu (42,687).

In terms of active cases, Delhi is second only to Maharashtra. The number of active cases in the national capital has increased to 22,742 (58% of total cases) while Maharashtra has 51,379 (49%) such cases.

“More active cases mean need for more quarantine facilities and hospital beds. If the cases continue to grow at such speed, we may face difficulty managing the situation in the coming weeks,” said a Delhi health department official.

798 deaths reported in Delhi since June 1

Though Tamil Nadu’s total case tally is more than that of Delhi’s, its active cases number 18,881 (44% of total cases). Gujarat and UP have total 23,079 and 13,216 Covid-19 cases respectively, but the number of active cases in these two states are 5,739 (25%) and 4956 (37%).

Delhi has 9,714 dedicated hospital beds for Covid-19 patients. Of this, 5,449 are occupied. There are 606 patients requiring ICU or ventilator support, as per the latest government data. “Around 550 people persons were admitted to various hospitals on Saturday and 400 were discharged,” said an official.

He said that 1,137 people are admitted in the Covid Care Centre that have basic medical facilities and 344 are recuperating at various Covid health centres. The death toll due to Covid-19 has mounted to 1271, including 57 deaths that were confirmed on Saturday. Health department officials said that most of the fatalities related to Covid-19 are taking place in elderly persons who also have comorbidities, for example uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension and heart disease among others. “The government is working on war footing to scale up hospital beds and equip hospitals with more oxygen concentrators and ventilators so that the severely ill can be saved and mortality can be reduced,” officials said.

Data shows 798 deaths have been reported in the state in the last 13 days, from June 1 to June 13. In March, April and May, Delhi reported 2, 57 and 414 Covid-19 fatalities respectively.

The incidence of Covid-19 has also gone up significantly, with over 1,000 new cases being reportedly since May 28, except on June 1.

“Situation in Delhi is worrisome. Lockdown or not, people should go out only if they must. They should take all possible precautions, for example wearing masks at all times and washing hands frequently,” said a senior doctor. Many RWAs are also making their own isolation rooms and arranging oxygen cylinders for managing Covid-19 cases, in case the patients find it difficult to get a bed in hospital when the pandemic is at its peak.