After remaining over 5 per cent for two consecutive days, the Covid-19 test positivity rate – the proportion of samples tested that returns positive - in Delhi dropped to 4.89 per cent Sunday when 1,485 cases were recorded against 30,398 tests as per the daily health bulletin. The test positivity rate is an indicator of the spread of the infection in a geographical location; the infection is said to be under control when a positivity rate of 5 per cent or less is maintained for over two weeks. As Covid-19 cases started rising after the mask mandates were withdrawn in April, the positivity rate started inching up along with the number of tests, which had dropped to a low level after the surge in January. A positivity rate of 5 per cent was recorded for two consecutive previous days and four single instances before that in April. The positivity rate likely remained under 5 per cent over the last two weeks because the tests were gradually increased from less than 10,000 to over 30,000. The positivity rate usually drops if the number of tests suddenly goes up. The increase, the experts believe, is because of all Covid-19 norms being relaxed. There is no threat from a new variant so far, according to the genomic sequencing lab. The Delhi labs had said that it picked a few sequences of a sub-variant of Omicron’s BA2 called BA2.12.1 that was first reported from New York. This, however, has not been confirmed by the genomic sequencing consortium INSACOG. The INSACOG has so far found a handful of recombinant variants after searching for them once they were reported elsewhere. Sunday’s health bulletin said no deaths were recorded in the city due to Covid-19 for the first time after 11 days. The number of deaths had also gone up through April, with 17 deaths reported during the second half as compared to six deaths during the first half of the month. The hospitalisations remained around 150 in the capital. The symptoms of Covid now, doctors say, resemble those of cases due to Omicron that led to a surge in December-end and January in the capital. Even though the number of cases crossed the previous high of 28,395 cases during the Delta-driven wave last April and May, the hospitalisations peaked at around 2,734 during the Omicron wave as compared to 20,142 during the Delta wave. The highest single-day toll at the height of the omicron wave was 45, whereas for Delta, it was 448.
