The increasing number of cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and related deaths in the national capital has prompted the Union Ministry of the Interior (MHA) to initiate an “active engagement” with the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor (LG ) Anil Baijal again.
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Delhi reported 2,737 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, while around 33,000 tests were conducted.
This was the highest single-day peak in Covid-19 cases since late June, data from the Delhi government’s daily health bulletin showed.
Delhi also recorded 19 new deaths due to the contagion, as the casualty count in the national capital rose to 4,500.
The city was recording Covid-19 related deaths in the single digits through the third week of August. But the death count rose to 22 a day three times in the past two weeks.
However, the fatality rate (CFR), the number of deaths that tested positive for Covid-19, has been decreasing in the national capital. Currently, Delhi’s CFR is 2.47%, but it is still much higher than the national average of 1.78%.
“The number of active cases and deaths in Delhi was decreasing, but in recent weeks both parameters have increased. Now the MHA has started an active engagement with the Delhi government, ”said Rajesh Bhushan, secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH & FW).
He said the Delhi government has received guidelines to help control the number of Covid-19 cases and related deaths. “We are cooperating with the Delhi government under the supervision of the MHA. We also held a meeting with LG recently, where representatives from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Institute of Indian Medical Sciences (AIIMS), MoH & FW and NITI Aayog were also present. We have given you some guidelines. If the guidelines are followed effectively, then the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths can be controlled, ”Bhushan said.
Bhushan said Delhi was one of the five states that accounted for 70% of the total deaths in the country.
Andhra Pradesh (AP), Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu (TN) are the other states hardest hit when it comes to the viral outbreak, he added.
Bhsuhan noted that Delhi and Karnataka are the two of the five worst affected states that have reported a rebound in the CFR in the past three weeks.
Delhi government authorities declined to comment.
Delhi has stepped up its daily tests for the past two days in accordance with the central government directive. The move has helped reduce the positivity rate, the number of Covid-19 tests that test positive among the total swab samples tested, to 8.34% as of Thursday.
While the average positivity rate of seven days during the last week was 9.01%.
Bhushan has also urged states to conduct more real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing.
“There are states where the optimal capacity of RT-PCR tests is not being used lately. We have drawn the attention of those states to the fact that they have an installed capacity to perform a particular number of RT-PCR tests, and they are doing less than capacity. They need to expand their RT-PCR tests, ”said the secretary.
“There is no uniform picture across the country when it comes to RT-PCR and rapid antigen detection (RAD) tests. For example, TN leads the pack when it comes to RT-PCR testing by more than 90%. There are other states where the testing capabilities of RT-PCR, TruNat (used for tuberculosis detection), and CBNAAT (cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test) are limited. ICMR has established guidelines that RAD tests are ideal for screening in densely populated areas, containment and buffer zones. So why not use them? ” I ask.
An expert has a different view of the test pattern at the national level.
“The tests are increasing in Delhi. If we test more, we are likely to have more new cases of Covid-19. However, the positivity rate should remain the same. Since the positivity rate has also increased, it implies that the transmission of the infection has increased again amid greater relaxation of lockdown restrictions. Therefore, more RT-PCR tests are required. But RAD tests cannot be used for large-scale diagnostics. If a person receives a false positive report, they may think that they have not been infected and may end up spreading SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease, among others, ”said Dr. Lalit Kant, former head of the department. of epidemiology and infectious diseases in ICMR.
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