‘Expected to record around 10,000 new cases’: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain announces arrival of third wave

Amid the rising cases of Omicron and COVID-19 in Delhi, Health Minister Satyendar Jain has now said that the third wave has hit the national capital.

The Health Minister said that Delhi is expected to record 10,000 new cases today (January 5, 2022), with a positivity rate of 10 percent.

The minister also said only 300-400 samples are being sent for genome sequencing now as sequencing of all samples is not possible.

Health Minister Jain said, “Delhi is expected to record around 10,000 new cases with a positivity rate of around 10 percent…The third wave has started in the city.”

There are around 15,000 active cases in Delhi and only 14 patients are on ventilators. When the city saw an equal number of active cases last time, 20 times more patients were on ventilator support, he said in response to a question.

The minister said testing for COVID-19 has been increased and around 90,000 tests have been conducted on Tuesday.

The latest government data showed the number of patients in hospitals in Delhi has increased from 247 on January 1 to 531 on January 4. In the last three days, the number of patients on oxygen support has increased from 94 to 168 and those on ventilators from four to 14.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier said his government is ready to handle up to one lakh COVID cases a day in a worst-case scenario.

The city government has activated a COVID war room which will maintain district and hospital-wise data about bed occupancy, patients, oxygen, etc, Jain added.

The Delhi government on Tuesday announced a weekend curfew and work from home for its offices as the city recorded 5,481 fresh COVID-19 cases.