Merely two months after the third Omicron-led COVID-19 wave subsided, the country is witnessing a spike in coronavirus cases once again, with the national capital seeing an exponential rise in infections in the past week.
A whopping 265.69 percent surge has been observed in the number of COVID-19 cases in the past week in Delhi, the data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shows:
Monday, 18 April: 501 cases
Sunday, 17 April: 517 cases
Saturday, 16 April: 461 cases
Friday, 15 April: 366 cases
Thursday, 14 April: 325 cases
Wednesday, 13 April: 299 cases
Tuesday, 12 April: 202 cases
Monday, 11 April: 137 cases
“We are keeping a close eye on rising coronavirus cases. Hospital admissions are not increasing, so there is no need to panic. Nothing to worry about as of now,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, reacting to the rise in the cases.
Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain also reiterated the same on Monday: "Though number of COVID-19 cases is rising in Delhi, it is not an alarming situation as rate of hospitalisation is low."
A Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting is scheduled for Wednesday in view of the swelling caseload. It is expected that the meeting, which will be chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, will deliberate on COVID-appropriate curbs such as mandating the wearing of masks in the national capital.
A fine for not wearing a mask in public places in Delhi was scrapped by the DDMA on 1 April.
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