With an uptick in Covid-19 cases across the country, the national capital has seen the greatest surge in the number of cases over the past few weeks.
On Tuesday, Delhi reported 1,204 new cases and one fatality accounting for almost 50 per cent of the pan-India cases.
What is causing the recent rise in Covid cases in Delhi?
As per a report by the Economic Times, experts have attributed the surge to the possible circulation of Omicron sub-variants, population density, international travel and non-adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour.
The situation has not been called alarming, since the positivity rate has been below 5 per cent. With Delhi reporting 1,204 cases, and total tests conducted were 25,963, the current test positivity rate stands at 4.64 per cent.
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The pandemic is said to be under control till the test positivity rate does not cross 5 per cent.
Currently, there are 3,304 active cases in Delhi, of which 114 are hospitalised. Of those, four are on ventilators and 39 are on oxygen support.
"At this moment, it's not alarming but we have to be watchful," said K Srinath Reddy, president of Public Health Foundation of India told the publication.
"When the previous virus is still around and new forms of variant are emerging and entering in a situation where people have discarded Covid-appropriate behaviour, the virus easily can get a chance for transmission," he said. "Delhi has a high crowd density and is a high mobility city, which is another reason for the numbers to go up."
In India, the surge in cases has been attributed to two dominant sub-variants of Omicron - BA.1 and BA.2. Experts, speaking to the publication, have said sub-lineage BA.2 and sub-lineage BA.2.12.1 are responsible for the surge in the capital.
Calling it difficult to pinpoint one cause of the surge in Delhi, Shahid Jameel, a leading virologist in the country, pointed to a myriad of reasons such as “more RT-PCR testing, densely populated so more chances of transmission, connectivity - both national and international making inflow of virus better, and more aggressive daredevil attitude."
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