New Delhi: Maharashtra and Delhi, the state and UT that were severely hit during the first and second Covid-19 wave, have started recording a sharp spike in cases once again. While Maharashtra reported 9,170 cases on Saturday, the national capital clocked 2,716 cases, the highest single-day jump since May 2021.


According to the daily health bulletin released on Saturday, the positivity rate in Delhi climbed to 3.64%. With the fresh cases, the tally has reached 14,50,927 in the city. In the same period, 765 patients have recovered, taking the total recoveries to 14,19,459.


One death was reported in the last 24 hours taking the toll to 25,108. The active caseload in the national capital currently stands at 6,360 out of which 3,248 are in home isolation, said the health bulletin.


Over the last 24 hours, 1,24,148 vaccine shots have been administered out of which 52,767 have received the first dose and 71,381 took the second dose.


On the other hand, Maharashtra clocked 9,170 new cases and seven deaths on Saturday. The active caseload reached 32,225 as 1,445 patients recovered in the same time period.


With the fresh cases, the total Covid count of Maharashtra rose to 66,87,991 on Saturday, a health official said.


The state also reported six new Omicron cases taking the state tally of the new variant to 460 till date.


On Friday, the state had reported 8,067 Covid cases and eight deaths. On Thursday, the new cases were 5,368 with 22 deaths.


Mumbai, which is a major contributor in the Covid cases in Maharashtra, meanwhile, logged 6,347 new cases, a steep rise from 5,428 the day before, and one death on Saturday. The active caseload in the commercial capital has mounted to 22,334 and the total count reached 7,91,457.


As per the daily health bulletin, out of 6,347 new cases, 5,712 are asymptomatic and 451 patients recovered.   


According to a health official, the doubling rate in Mumbai is now 251 days and the growth rate of cases during the span of December 25 - December 31 is 0.28%.


Meanwhile, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had on Wednesday decided that the Covid-related curbs imposed in Delhi under the ''yellow alert'' would continue for the time being and the authorities would monitor the situation for a while before deciding on fresh restrictions.


Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain, addressing a press conference on Saturday said, “People are demanding Omicron test these days. This is to inform them that the information on Omicron is necessary only for the government and the policy makers so that it can ensure the system works accordingly. Patients will not get to know anything new about the variant because the treatment process for other coronavirus variants is exactly the same as the Omicron variant.”


"The Omicron variant is a variant of the coronavirus itself and the protocol for its treatment and prevention is also the same as before," Jain further said.


The Delhi Health Minister stressed that the Omicron patients have not required oxygen till now.