Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday said that the positivity rate has become less than half that of reported on November 7 which is a sign of relief as it points to the fact that the outbreak is on perpetual decline.
The national capital recorded 4,906 fresh Covid-19 cases on Sunday and a positivity rate of 7.64 per cent while 68 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 9066. The active cases tally on Sunday stood at 35,091 and the total number of cases has climbed to 566648 of which 522491 have recovered.
The number of Covid-19 containment zones in Delhi rose to 5441. The bulletin said that of the total number of 18661 beds in COVID-19 hospitals, 10418 are vacant.
The health minister said that the positivity rate was down to 7.64 from 15.26 per cent. It has become less than half since November 7. RT-PCR tests were ordered to be increased by the central government; however the labs do not have that much capacity. We are doing our best to provide each and every result on them. As far as the decreasing number of cases is concerned, we only take into the consideration the individual whose report has duly been provided,” Jain said.
Jain said that the government has already issued work-from-home orders for 50 per cent of its employees associated with non-essential services and advised private establishments to stagger timings and presence of staff and only Class 1 officers will be required to report to office. “Private offices have been given the freedom to take decisions as per their will but most of the private sector has been following the work from home policy and have extended it till 31 December,” he added.
According to the latest bulletin issued by the Delhi Health Department on Sunday, these relatively high numbers of fresh cases came out of the 64186 tests conducted on Sunday including 29839 RT-PCR tests.
The national capital had recorded its highest single-day spike of 8,593 cases on November 11 when 85 fatalities linked to the pandemic were also registered.
Responding to the query surrounding the lack of oxygen supply in Delhi due to the ongoing farmer agitation, the minister said “Initially there was a hiccup for a few hours, but that was resolved immediately and the supply was restored.
Oxygen supply comes from Rajasthan and is a life saving necessity, therefore it will be made available in abundance.”
Commenting on the Union Home Minister’s directions that they will speak with the farmers once they reach the designated place, Jain said “There should not be any terms and conditions pertaining to deliberations with the farmers. They are our providers and they should be tended to immediately and be allowed to carry out their peaceful protest. We have to respect the effort they have made to come from their homes all the way to Delhi to voice their opinion. We should not be ignorant of their problems.”
