Delhi is expected to record 14,000 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said. Speaking to reporters, the minister also said the city is in a comfortable position in terms of hospital bed occupancy and there is no need for a lockdown right now.
Jain said the number of cases in Delhi is high as a large number of people are being tested for COVID-19 in the city.
"We have been conducting a large number of tests. If we don't do that, the new cases can reduce to 500-1,000. A lot of people (states) don't conduct tests and say they don't have cases. We have been transparent," he said.
"We are conducting the maximum number of tests in the country," he claimed.
A few healthcare workers in Delhi have tested positive, but the number is not alarming, the minister said in response to a question.
Asked whether the AAP government was considering a lockdown in the city, Jain said Delhi has already taken stringent actions, including imposing a night curfew and weekend curfew, which are sufficient for the time being. There is no need for a lockdown right now.
On Wednesday, the daily number of COVID cases in the national capital almost doubled, rising to 10,655 infections from 5,481 a day earlier, with the positivity rate shooting up to 11.88 per cent and eight deaths reported, the highest in nearly seven months, prompting the Delhi government to direct hospitals to immediately escalate their bed capacity.
The city government also cancelled the leaves of all officials in a bid to ensure adequate manpower to tackle a surge in coronavirus cases driven by Omicron.
Health Minister Satyender Jain said that this is the fifth wave of COVID-19 to hit Delhi as cases are rapidly spreading due to the Omicron variant.
(With inputs from PTI)
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