Festivals, Pollution Push Delhi's COVID Tally To Record High, Crosses 5000 For The First Time
The fear expressed by several healthcare experts about the possible spike in new COVID-19 infections in Delhi seems to be coming true.
This, as the national capital recorded 5,673 fresh COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
This is the highest daily rise in infection in Delhi to date, and the first time the numbers have crossed 5000 in a day.
The previous record was 4,853, which was set on Tuesday.
According to the latest health department bulletin, the infection tally in the city mounted to over 3.7 lakh and the positivity rate has also jumped to 9.37 per cent.
Forty new fatalities were recorded, pushing the death toll in the national capital to 6,396, the bulletin said, adding that the fresh figure included one death which had occurred in August. The 5,673 fresh cases on Wednesday came out of the 60,571 tests conducted the previous day, with the Delhi government scaling up RT-PCR tests, whose count stood at 17,284.
The sudden spike in cases comes amid the festive season and rising pollution level. While Durga Puja celebrations ended on October 25, the next festival is Diwali and Chhath in November.
There is a growing fear that the upcoming festivals could worsen the COVID-19 situation in Delhi further.
The National Centre for Disease Control in a report drafted recently had warned that Delhi needs to be prepared for about 15,000 fresh cases of COVID-19 per day, taking into account the upcoming winter season-related respiratory problems, a large influx of patients from outside, and festive gatherings.?
A high-level expert committee led by NITI Aayog member Dr. V K Paul had also suggested that Delhi may report 15,000 daily cases during the festival season.
The committee has also recommended a revised containment strategy focused on the management of home isolation cases, increased contact tracing, and boosting preparedness of hospitals.
Another concern for Delhi amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases is the alarming increase in air pollution.
Delhi has been witnessing a rise in pollution for the past few days. On Tuesday, Delhi's air quality was recorded in the "very poor" category. On Wednesday, the city recorded a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 297, which falls in the "poor" category. Prior to this, the air quality remained "very poor" for five days on the trot.
Many healthcare experts have warned that COVID-19, the winter and air pollution could be a deadly combination this year, especially for those with respiratory illnesses.
