Anupama Nair
www.mediaeyenews.com
India is witnessing yet another spike of COVID-19 cases with more than 2600 new cases recorded in the last 24 hours. India has reported more than 90 percent increase in new COVID cases in just a single day, stated an official in the Ayush Mantralay. Are we witnessing the 4th Wave?
India had also reported a 165 percent spike in daily positivity rate with some states reporting a sudden increase in COVID cases including Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Delhi has reported over 500 cases for the second consecutive day. As per a local survey, the number of people reporting someone getting COVID in their close circle has risen by 500% in Delhi-NCR in the last 15 days. The state of Kerala has reported around 488 cases in the last 24 hours, which is an alarming report. The Center has asked Kerala to provide updated Covid data daily and noted that the state's delayed reporting of figures has affected India's key pandemic monitoring indicators including cases, deaths and positivity rate.
Delhi's Covid-19 positivity rate has jumped to 7.72 percent with the city recording 632 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of active cases in the city to 1729. This is the second consecutive day that the capital has reported more than 500 cases. The total number of Covid-infected patients in Delhi is also the highest since March 3rd.
Delhi has been witnessing a spike in daily COVID-19 cases in the last few days despite less tests. The Covid positivity rate jumped from 4.21 percent on April 17th to 7.72 percent on April 18th for the first time since January. This comes soon after the Delhi government had removed the penalty on wearing of masks in the capital. Earlier, there was a Rs. 2000 fine for violating the mask rule in Delhi.
The last time Delhi's positivity rate was above 7 percent was on January 29 (7.4%) and on January 28 (8.6%). The number of daily COVID cases had reached a record high of 28,867 on January 13, while the highest positivity rate was reported on January 14 (30.6 percent), the highest during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The capital city had witnessed the worst brunt of the COVID-19 second wave in April-May 2021 with citizens struggling to get access to basic medical support including oxygen and hospital beds.
The Uttar Pradesh government has made the wearing of masks mandatory in public places, including districts in the NCR region amid a sudden spike in COVID cases. The Gautam Buddh Nagar police has started an awareness campaign to ensure everyone had their faces covered. Several students in Delhi-NCR had tested positive over the past couple of weeks, sparking panic among parents and students.
The question is are we seeing a glimpse of the dreaded 4th wave that was predicted in June 2022? Is the wave coming early?
