New Delhi: Delhi recorded a massive surge in daily Covid-19 infections with 2,716 fresh cases on the first day of the new year, reported PTI. The city on Saturday recorded 351 cases of Omicron. There were only 142 cases of the new variant of Covid-19 on Monday.
Out of 2,716 fresh infections recorded on Saturday, south Delhi has registered the maximum number of cases at 372, followed by west district (356), northwest (323), southeast (314) and Central Delhi (278). The city also recorded one death.
While the emergence of the new Omicron variant has sparked fears of a third wave, there has been a constant surge in the Covid-19 tally in the national capital which recorded 7,865 cases in the last seven days. Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the hospital occupancy is still low and further restrictions will be reviewed soon.
According to the Saturday bulletin, of the 8,883 dedicated Covid beds in Delhi, 247 were occupied, including by suspected cases, while 8,636 beds were lying vacant.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had on Wednesday decided that Covid-related restrictions imposed in Delhi under the ”yellow alert” would continue for the time being and authorities would monitor the situation for a while before deciding on fresh curbs.
According to Delhi government data, around 5,000 violations related to Covid-appropriate behaviour were reported on Friday. Out of the total 4,997 violations, 4,808 were related to not wearing face masks, 109 to not maintaining social distancing, and 80 to spitting in public places, the data stated. Of the 4,808 violations related to not wearing face masks, the maximum was reported from the central district (705), followed by north (690) and east (547), it said.
On Tuesday, the DDMA had declared the “yellow alert” under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the city amid a spike in cases following the emergence of the Omicron variant. The alert entails restrictions like night curfew, closure of schools and colleges, the opening of shops selling non-essential items on an odd-even basis and halved seating capacity in Metro trains and buses, among other things.
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