3 min readNew DelhiApr 19, 2022 07:11 AM IST
First published on: Apr 19, 2022 at 02:49 AM IST
Even as the number of Covid cases continues to increase in the capital, doctors said most patients are coming to the hospital with fever, cough, sore throat, and body ache. Almost everyone is recovering within three-five days of getting the symptoms, they said.
“I don’t think this is a separate wave. The numbers are going up because people aren’t masking anymore; this was expected. The symptoms that we are currently seeing in patients are similar to what was seen in the surge in January — fever, sore throat, cough, headache and body ache — and they are getting better in two or three days,” said Dr Rajesh Chawla, senior consultant of respiratory medicine at Indraprastha Apollo hospital.
Dr Atul Gogia, senior consultant of internal medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, also reported the same: “The number of cases is definitely increasing, but so far most of them have been mild. It is mostly fever, cough, cold, and sore throat. The only worry is if a large number of people get infected, then there will be some — the old or co-morbid — who will land up in hospitals. We will be able to understand the trajectory a little better in the next 10-15 days.”
Dr Gogia added, “With people doing away with masks and several weddings taking place, it is conducive for the virus to spread.”
The number of cases remained over 500 for two days in a row, with 501 cases reported in Monday’s health bulletin. The positivity rate — proportion of samples that return positive — shot up to 7.72%. Covid-19 is said to be under control when the positivity rate, which is indicative of the spread of the infection in an area, remains at 5% or less. There were 517 cases recorded on Sunday with a positivity rate of 4.21%. The positivity rate had crossed the 5% mark on Saturday.
Hospital admissions, however, remain low. “There are only four patients with Covid admitted to the hospital at present,” said Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director of Lok Nayak Hospital, which is Delhi’s biggest treatment facility for the viral infection. A month ago, the hospital had reported zero admitted Covid-19 patients for the first time since cases were first reported in the capital in March 2020. Since then, the hospital has been reporting two to three admitted patients at a time.
At AIIMS, only three Covid patients are admitted. “The number of hospitalisations continues to remain low. Even among those admitted, there is hardly anyone who needs oxygen or ventilator support,” said a doctor from the hospital.
The daily positivity rate was at 0.31 per cent while the weekly positivity rate stood at 0.34 per cent. (Express Photo) 
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