Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that samples of all new Covid-19 cases reported in the city will be sent for genome sequencing amid the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
The city on Sunday registered 107 new coronavirus cases, the highest single-day infection count in 24 hours since June 25, when the Capital had recorded 115 Covid-19 cases in a day. The national Capital also recorded one death after 10 days.
Delhi has so far registered 24 Omicron patients, of whom 12 have been discharged.
“For the last few days Covid-19 cases are increasing in the city,” Kejriwal said at a media briefing on Monday. “We don’t know what type of Covid-19 cases are these, if they are the Omicron variant. So, we have now decided to send the samples of all the positive cases for genome sequencing.”
The chief minister appealed for calm and said that his administration has made sufficient arrangements to check the spread of the Omicron variant. “There is no oxygen threat this time,” he added.
Between April and May, Delhi witnessed a tsunami of Covid-19 infections. Reports flooded the media of patients running from pillar to post in search of hospital beds and oxygen cylinders as several hospitals reported shortages. Some hospitals in the city even approached the courts for help as their oxygen supplies ran out.
During the briefing on Monday, Kejriwal said that he had consulted with experts, who said that the Omicron variant spreads fast but is a mild strain as the number of “hospitalisations and deaths are low”.
He also urged the Centre to open booster doses for healthcare workers and other citizens.
“In Delhi, close to 99% of the adult population have received the first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine...and the second dose has been administered to 70%,” Kejriwal said. “I would like to appeal to the Centre to allow booster doses for those who have received both shots of the vaccine.”
Hospital occupancy in Delhi remained low, as 8,770 out of 8,987 hospital beds were vacant in the Capital, according to the Sunday evening bulletin. A total of 225 persons were in home isolation.
Apart from Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karanataka, Telangana, Gujarat, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have reported Omicron cases.
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