Severity low, but demand for O2 support rising, say hospitals

Delhi recorded 23 deaths due to Covid-19 on Tuesday, the highest in nearly seven months. In the past three days alone, the city has recorded 57 deaths due to the viral infection.

Published On Jan 12, 2022 at 05:00 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Delhi recorded 23 deaths due to Covid-19 on Tuesday, the highest in nearly seven months. In the past three days alone, the city has recorded 57 deaths due to the viral infection.

Hospitals say while most people are recovering from Covid-19 at home, they are still getting a significant number of patients who are requiring oxygen and ventilator support.

“The severity of disease may be lower in proportion to the number of cases, but the absolute number of such patients remains high as the infection has spread at a rapid speed this time compared with the first and the second waves of the pandemic,” Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director of Lok Nayak Hospital, said. The state-run hospital has 12 Covid-19 patients who are requiring ventilator support.

Across Delhi, data shared by the Delhi government shows, the number of patients requiring ventilator support is 84, while 568 people are on oxygen support.

According to the government data, there are a total of 74,881 active cases of Covid-19 in the city currently. This includes 21,259 people who tested positive for the viral infection in the past 24 hours, the highest since May 1. The positivity rate of Covid-19 has reached 25.65%, according to the data shared by the health department on Tuesday.

Keeping in view the situation, the government on Tuesday issued an advisory asking all hospitals to ensure that patients with comorbidities are duly attended to by specialists.

Delhi reported 34 fatalities on Sunday and Monday — 17 each — compared with 54 fatalities in the past five months — nine in December, seven in November, four in October, five in September and 29 in August. In July, the virus had claimed 76 lives in the national capital.

The single-day 21,259 count of cases is the highest since May 1 last year, when the city saw 25,219 infections with a positivity rate of 31.61%. On Monday, Delhi had recorded 19,166 infections in a day as the positivity rate rose to 25%.

The health department on Tuesday said 82,884 tests were conducted the previous day, including 61,060 RT-PCR ones.

The cumulative case tally has risen to 15,90,155 while the death toll stands at 25,200. The case fatality rate is at 1.58%. The number of containment zones has gone up to 17,269.