Third wave may have peaked in Delhi, but curbs will continue: Health minister

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said on Thursday that it seems the peak of the third COVID-19 wave has passed in the national capital, but cautioned that the city is not out of the danger zone yet.

Jain pointed out that Delhi saw a record surge in daily COVID-19 cases recently, with over 28,000 cases registered in a day and the positivity rate crossing 30 per cent.

“That spike which Delhi saw can be considered as the peak of the COVID wave and it seems that we are past the peak now…. The number of daily cases has come down in the last few days. Over 13,000 cases were recorded yesterday with a positivity rate of close to 24 per cent. And today, the number of cases is lesser than that,” Jain said.

The Capital had reported 28,867 fresh COVID-19 cases on January 13, the sharpest single-day spike in the city since the outbreak of the pandemic, with a positivity rate of 29.21 per cent. On January 14, the positivity rate had increased to over 30 per cent.

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However, Jain said, we “still cannot say that we are out of the danger zone yet and we need to watch the trend”.

Asked if some restrictions will be eased, the minister said that proactive measures have also led to the fall in number of cases and, for any decision on easing restrictions, “we will have to first monitor the situation in the coming days”.

On a reduction in the number of tests to detect the infection, Jain said Delhi is still conducting more daily tests than other states and “no one is being denied any test, if needed”.

(With inputs from Agencies)