Despite the number of daily cases witnessing an upward trend over the past week, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday said COVID-19 was nearing an “endemic” phase in the Capital.
He said the positivity rate has been below 1% for over two months and not been fluctuating, which is a good sign.
“The positivity rate in November 2020 was at a high of 10-15%,” he said.
“COVID-19 is nearing an endemic phase in Delhi. Experts say some cases will continue to occur in the endemic phase over the next few years, but it will not spread like it was in the pandemic phase. Delhi witnessed a swine flu outbreak around 10 years ago but still some cases are reported every year. COVID-19 is not going to end completely. We will have to learn to live with it,” Mr. Jain said.
‘Testing at all-time high’
He added that less than 10% of beds reserved for COVID-19 patients are occupied in the hospitals here and testing was at an all-time high. The health bulletin released by the Delhi government on Sunday said over 91,614 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours with a positivity rate of 0.31%.
The number of new cases was 286 and two patients died due to the virus, it said. In the same period, 260 people recovered. The number of active cases in the Capital now stands at 1,803 with 937 under home isolation.
Out of the total tests conducted, 71,250 were RT-PCR and 20,364 were rapid antigen. This was the highest number of tests conducted in a single day since the pandemic began. The total cases now stand at 6,41,101 with the death toll touching 10,921 with cumulative positivity ratio of 5% and case fatality rate of 1.70%.
