At 4,853, Delhi Records The Highest Single-Day Spike In COVID, But The Worst May Be Yet To Come
In the past 24 hours, New Delhi has added 4,853 new COVID-19 cases taking the state's tally to 3,64,341 so far.
In fact, this is the national capital's biggest ever single-day jump in COVID-19 cases, and the fourth time in the past five days that the 4,000-mark has been breached.
The previous highest single-day record in Delhi was 4,473 cases, which was on September 16.
The 4,853 fresh cases came out of the 57,210 tests conducted the previous day.
The active cases tally on Tuesday rose to 27,873 from 25,786 the previous day, as per the bulletin.
In the past 24 hours, the death toll increased to 6,356 with 44 new deaths reported. The fatality rate, based on data from the last 10 days, stands at 1.02%.
According to the Health Ministry, it's a matter of concern that Kerala, West Bengal and Delhi are proceeding towards a third peak.
The spiking of the number of COVID-19 cases is a matter of concern for the government in Delhi as the new infections are likely to increase further in the coming days, especially during festivals.
With Diwali just around the corner, some have predicted daily caseloads to rise by double or triple of where they currently stand.?
A high-level expert committee led by NITI Aayog member Dr V K Paul had suggested that Delhi may report 15,000 daily cases during the festival season.
The committee has also recommended a revised containment strategy focused on management of home isolation cases, increased contact tracing, and boosting preparedness of hospitals.?
The drop in air quality in the national capital is also likely to worsen the situation as winter sets in.
According to data shared by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, air quality in the nation's capital fell into the 'Very Poor' category on Tuesday, with Rohini registering an AQI of 346, RK Puram registering one of 377 and Mundka seeing an AQI of 363.?
Though the AQI had marginally improved to 'poor' on Wednesday morning, it is expected to fall further in the coming days.
With a spike in cases, there is also a fear that the number of those needing hospitalization may go up.
Delhi has 15,765 COVID beds in government and private hospitals.
On Tuesday, 5,453 of the beds were occupied against 5,404 on Monday.?Also making matters worse is the ongoing doctors' strike in Delhi.?
Following the strikes by doctors at the MCD-run Hindu Rao Hospital, the Delhi government had recently removed it from the list of COVID-19 hospitals.
