Covid cases decreased in Delhi, weekend curfew proving to work: Jain

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said corona cases have decreased in the city over the last four days as the weekend curfew is proving to work and assured migrant workers there will be no lockdown in the national capital.

He said the vaccination drive in Delhi completed one year on Monday and a total of 2.85 crore doses have been administered so far.

In a statement, Jain said no prescription is required to get tested if people are showing any symptoms of coronavirus.

He said Delhi recorded approximately 24,383, 20,178, and 18,286 COVID positive cases on January 14, January 15, and January 17, respectively.

Weekend curfews have played a significant role in this decline. However, this trend indicates that the number of cases in Delhi is decreasing, but the government is still keeping a close eye on the covid cases.

It will take some time to understand the trend forward. There is no lockdown in Delhi and the migrant workers should not be worried, Jain said in the statement.

According to the data provided by the health department, the national capital recorded 12,527 COVID-19 cases on Monday with a positivity rate of 27.99 per cent.

Twenty-four people lost their lives to the virus on Sunday, as per the data.

Earlier in the day, Jain told reporters that the city was likely to witness 4,000-5,000 less COVID-19 cases on Monday than the numbers reported on Sunday.

He congratulated healthcare workers and front-line workers on completing a year of the vaccination drive and said that the Delhi government has an adequate supply of vaccines.

"First dose of Covid vaccine has been given to 100 per cent of the eligible population in Delhi while both doses have been given to 80 per cent of the targeted people.

"As many as 1.27 lakh precautionary doses have been administered to senior citizens, frontline workers and healthcare workers, Jain said.

He added that out of 1.27 lakh precautionary doses, nearly 35,000 have been administered to senior citizens, 60,000 to frontline workers, and 32,000 to healthcare workers.

He added that health system in Delhi is in a good shape and the government is fully prepared to deal with the most serious of situations.

Jain urged people to wear masks at all times and adhere to all covid protocols such as maintaining social distancing, hand sanitisation at regular intervals.