Corona cases in Delhi climbed to 300 on Wednesday for the first time since August 31 last year.
New Delhi: Daily coronavirus cases in the country have climbed to a 5-month high of 2,151 on Wednesday and health experts have started cautioning the general public over the looming threat of the disease’s next possible outbreak.
Corona Cases In Delhi
In the meantime, the corona cases in Delhi climbed to 300 on Wednesday for the first time since August 31 last year, while the positivity rate climbed to 13.89 per cent. Two more Covid-related deaths were also reported.
The national capital has reported 377 cases on August 31 along with two fatalities while the positivity rate was 2.58 per cent. On Tuesday, Delhi logged 214 cases with a positivity rate of 11.82 per cent.
Why COVID Cases Rise?
Talking to news agency IANS, Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, Co-Chairman, National IMA COVID Task Force and former President, Indian Medical Association, said that the gradual waning of immunity, dropping of precautions, and genetic mutations are some reasons for the rising cases.
“Covid-19 is a cyclical viral disease, which means that periodically there will be surges. Reasons include gradual waning of immunity, dropping of precautions, greater mingling, travel, and genetic mutations that allow the virus to escape the human immune response from either vaccination, prior infection or both,” he said.
However, he added that the good news is that all the recent sublineages isolated from India are exclusively Omicron, which unlike Delta, is less likely to directly attack the lungs.
Dr Jayadevan further added that what makes Covid-19 difficult to contain is its ability to repeatedly infect the same person, regardless of prior infection or vaccination.
“Multiple strategies have to be followed at once to reduce the total disease burden in the community, and on hospitals. The strategy also must include keeping elderly people safe, especially during times of surge, for instance, by staying away from crowded indoor gatherings in ill-ventilated spaces. Masking and triaging at hospitals will help reduce the spread of virus from Covid patients to others, some of whom might be in the vulnerable category,” he said.
Booster Doses Not Taken By All
Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder & Director of the Ujala Cygnus group of Hospitals, told IANS that despite a significant increase in vaccination rates in recent months, India still has a large population who have not received their booster doses. He said it indicates that the virus can still easily spread among those who have not received a booster vaccine.
Dr Bajaj added that though vaccines are not 100 per cent effective, and some vaccinated individuals may still get infected with the virus. These so-called ‘breakthrough infections’ are usually mild or asymptomatic, but in some cases, they can still cause severe illness.
Health Ministry Reviews Situation
Because of the sudden rise in corona cases, the Health Ministry on Monday held a high-level meeting to review preparedness status of the entire spectrum of management of the pandemic with states and UTs through Video Conference.
