After 6 weeks, Covid positivity in Delhi stays below 2% for two consecutive days

As many as 403 fresh cases of the infection were reported in Delhi in Thursday’s health bulletin.

Delhi covid-19, Delhi covid, Delhi covid positivity rate, Delhi covid cases, Delhi news, Delhi latest news, Indian express, Indian express news, current affairs

A medical worker collects the swab sample of a person for a Covid test. (File)

Delhi’s Covid-19 positivity rate – the proportion of tested samples that return positive – continued to remain below 2 per cent for the second day in a row, suggesting a steady decline in the number of infections. As many as 403 fresh cases of the infection were reported in Thursday’s health bulletin.

This is the first time in 44 days that the positivity rate in the city remained below 2 per cent for two consecutive days. With the positivity rate reflecting the spread of infection in an area, the World Health Organization (WHO) had initially said that a rate of 5 per cent or less for a period of two weeks meant Covid-19-related restrictions could be lifted in that particular area.

After just a couple of months of the Omicron-driven third wave of Covid-19 in Delhi, cases started going up again slowly in mid-April. This, the experts say, is because all Covid-19 related restrictions were removed in the city, including mask mandates. They said a slight increase was to be expected whenever all restrictions are removed. However, Delhi re-imposed masking mandates the same month.

The increase is not owing to any change in variants of the virus, officials said. Although BA.2.12.1, a more infectious variant that is currently the dominant one in the United States, has been detected by labs in the national capital, the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron that – drove the country’s third wave – continues to be the dominant one in Delhi.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram