DDMA meet on April 20 as Delhi sees uptick in Covid cases

In view of the uptick in COVID-19 cases in the national capital, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will hold a meeting on April 20 to discuss measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the city, officials said on Thursday.

Delhi on Wednesday reported 299 COVID-19 cases, a jump of 118 per cent in two days. The positivity rate stood at 2.49 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.

The city had recorded 137 cases on Monday, the data showed.

"The Delhi Disaster Management Authority's meeting is scheduled to be held on Wednesday next week under the chairmanship of the Lt Governor. It will discuss the prevailing Covid situation, including the recent rise in the number of cases," a senior Delhi government official said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Delhi government is keeping an eye on the COVID-19 situation and there is no need to panic since hospitalisations are low.

His deputy Manish Sisodia said the government will soon issue guidelines for schools in view of the slight rise in COVID-19 cases.

There have been reports of some schoolchildren testing positive for COVID-19 in Delhi and the National Capital Region.

The positivity rate in Delhi has jumped from 0.5 per cent to 2.70 per cent in a week. Doctors have said it is "not a panic situation" as the daily case count is still low, even as they cautioned against lowering guard.

No fresh fatality due to COVID-19 was recorded on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, the DDMA decided to withdraw the fine on not wearing face masks in public places.

In February, the DDMA lifted all restrictions in the wake of the significant improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the city.

The number of daily COVID-19 cases in Delhi had touched the record high of 28,867 on January 13 this year during the third wave of the pandemic.

The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the third wave of the pandemic which was largely driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus.