Experts on Tuesday said that the rise in Covid cases over the last few weeks does not suggest the onset of a new wave in the national Capital. They advised people to keep basic mitigation measures in place to prevent the spread of the infection.According to eminent epidemiologist Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, the test positivity rate is stagnant and it means the infection is spreading at the same rate and there is no wave.
“There is a subtle change in the hospitalisation rate which also proves that there is no wave. Absolute numbers have no meaning. The number of cases will be more if you do more tests. Therefore, we should not worry too much about the test positivity rate and the absolute number of cases, the main parameter is the hospitalisation rate and the mortality rate,” said Dr Lahariya.Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the Indian Medical Association's National Task Force on Coronavirus, said the test positivity rate not going up suggests it is not like the tsunami sparked by the Delta variant. “Keep a mask on when you enter any indoor space, there is no exception to that. The infection is spreading, it is here and we must continue taking all primary precautionary measures,” Dr Jayadevan said.Since April 20, the number of Covid cases in Delhi has been oscillating between 1,000 and 1,600. The test positivity rate has remained between four per cent and seven per cent since April 16.
