Delhi adds 699 new COVID-19 cases, positivity rate stands at 21.15%

Delhi on Sunday logged 699 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 21.15 per cent, according to data shared by the city government's health department.

Four people suffering from COVID-19 died in the city. However, the health bulletin stated that COVID-19 was the primary cause of death in just one case.

With the fresh cases, Delhi's COVID-19 tally has risen to 20,14,637. The death toll stands at 26,540, the bulletin stated. Delhi saw 535 COVID-19 cases on Saturday with a positivity rate of 23.05 per cent.

The capital logged 733 cases -- the highest in more than seven months -- on Friday with a positivity rate of 19.93 per cent. On Thursday, 606 cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 16.98 per cent, and one fatality.

On Wednesday, Delhi added 509 cases with a positivity rate of 26.54 per cent, the highest in nearly 15 months. In January last year, the positivity rate had touched the 30-per cent mark.

According to the bulletin, 3,305 COVID-19 tests were conducted in Delhi on Saturday.

Delhi has witnessed a spurt in the number of fresh Covid infections over the last fortnight amid a sharp rise in H3N2 influenza cases in the country. The number of fresh cases had dropped to zero on January 16, the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The Health Department on Sunday said 136 of the 7,989 beds in dedicated Covid hospitals in the city are occupied while 1,634 patients are in home isolation. The number of active cases currently stands at 2,460, it added.

Amid a gradual increase in the number of Covid cases in Delhi, medical experts say the new XBB.1.16 variant of the virus could be driving the surge.

However, they maintained that there is no need to panic and people should follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and get booster shots of vaccines.

They also said this rise in the number of cases could be the result of more people getting themselves tested for Covid as a precaution when they actually get infected with the influenza virus and develop fever and related symptoms.

The Indian Council of Medical Research has said the rise in the number of influenza cases is due to the Influenza A sub-type H3N2.

The H3N2 virus is leading to more hospitalisation than the other subtypes. The symptoms include a runny nose, persistent cough and fever.