Delhi Sees Second-Highest Daily Rise In Covid Cases; Mumbai Logs 16,420 Infections

Covid Update: On Wednesday, Delhi reported 27,561 fresh Covid cases, the second-highest daily rise since the beginning of the pandemic.

Covid-19 testing being done in Mumbai (PTI)

New Delhi: After seeing a drop for the last four days, Mumbai saw a spike in daily Covid-19 cases on Wednesday while Delhi reported more than 27,000 infections.

The Union Health Ministry said a sharp surge in Covid-19 cases was noted in India, with Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Prdaesh, Kerala and Gujarat emerging as states of concern.

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Covid Cases, Deaths In Delhi

On Wednesday, Delhi reported 27,561 fresh Covid cases, the second-highest daily rise since the beginning of the pandemic. According to data by the health department, the national capital registered 40 deaths, the highest since June 10, 2021.

COVID-19 | Delhi reports 27561 new cases, 40 deaths and 14957 recoveries. Active cases 87445

Positivity rate 26.22 % pic.twitter.com/Z1KwbnZZV2

— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2022

The positivity rate has risen to 26.22 per cent, the highest since May 4, when it was at 26.7 per cent. The number of Covid cases is the highest since April 30, when Delhi saw 27,047 infections.

Delhi currently has 87,445 active Covid cases, of which 56,991 are in home isolation.

Of the 133 Covid deaths recorded in the first 12 days of January, most were comorbid patients, the health department said.

The government has issued an advisory asking all hospitals to ensure that patients with comorbidities are duly attended by specialists.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain said the current wave of the pandemic had peaked in the national capital and Covid cases might start declining in two-three days.

"We have observed that the number of hospital admissions has stabilised in the last four to five days and only 2,209 of the 14,621 beds are occupied and 85 per cent of the beds are vacant," Satyendra Jain said at a press briefing.

"Plateauing of hospital admissions is an indication that the wave has peaked. We may see a decline in cases in two to three days," he further said.

Covid Cases, Deaths In Mumbai

Mumbai recorded a 41 per cent increase in Covid cases than a day before, logging 16,420 new infections on Wednesday. Mumbai witnessed a single-day growth of 4,773 cases compared to Tuesday.

COVID-19, Mumbai | 16,420 new cases, 14,649 recoveries and 7 deaths reported today. pic.twitter.com/AVr1SgMzyB

— ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2022

In its health bulletin, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said seven Covid-related deaths were recorded. The overall infection tally of the city stands at 956,287 and death toll at 16,420.

The  positivity rate also surged to 24.38 per cent from 18.75 per cent on Tuesday.

Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal told PTI that the rise in cases was due to revised national testing guidelines.

"Due to the recent change in the national COVID testing guidelines two days ago, where it has been directed that only symptomatic cases will be tested, it is likely to create a spike in positivity as most of the symptomatic cases would be almost confirmed positive cases," PTI quoted Chahal as saying.

(With PTI inputs)