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In just a matter of weeks, Delhi has become the worst-hit city in the country in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a situation that some doctors are describing as an “absolute rampage”.
Delhi recorded 16,699 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, and 112 fatalities from the infection – a frightening positivity rate of 20.22 per cent, the highest ever since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, according to data shared by the health department. The previous highest positivity rate till the third wave, was on November 14 last year at 15.33 per cent.
With an exponential rise in cases, the national capital has left far behind the financial capital Mumbai, which at one point was the largest COVID hotspot in the country. Mumbai’s single day peak so far has been 11,163 cases, registered on April 4, according to officials figures.
“It is an absolute rampage in the city. Young and old, vaccinated or not vaccinated, the virus is just hitting everyone. Delhi’s situation is grim,” said Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, a senior consultant at Apollo Hospitals here.
While Delhi’s numbers were lower than on Wednesday, that was because it conducted much fewer tests – about 20,000 less, leading to a positivity rate of 20.22 per cent. On Wednesday, Bengaluru recorded 8,155 cases and Chennai 2,564 cases, their highest daily surge. Pune’s highest single-day since the pandemic began was 12,494 cases, recorded on April 4.
The unprecedented surge in cases, especially in the last few days, has left other doctors and medical experts baffled, with some conjecturing that the virus has mutated and assumed so many different strains, some of which are far more infectious than others.
“Given the surge in cases in the last few days, it is an absolute rampage. We will have to watch for the next few days, as far as hitting the peak of the wave here is concerned,” said Dr Avdhesh Bansal, a pulmonologist at the Apollo hospital.
“Also, in this wave, the severity is such that in many cases, either majority of family members or all family members are getting infected,” he added.
He also felt that vaccination for the general masses “started a bit late” and many frontline workers did not opt for the vaccine, leading to its “wastage”.
