Cannot be at ease till positivity rate drops below 5 per cent: Satyendar Jain

Over the last few days, the COVID-19 positivity rate in the national capital has declined from 36 per cent to 19 per cent, informed health minister Satyendar Jain, adding that the caseload has dropped to 12,500.

New Delhi:Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday said while the number of daily new infections in the capital has started reducing, one cannot be at ease till the positivity rate drops below five per cent.

The number of cases has dipped to around 12,500 from a high of around 28,000. The positivity rate has also reduced to 19 per cent from a maximum of 36 per cent in April, he told reporters.

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"But we cannot be at ease till the positivity rate drops below five per cent and the number of new infections is less than 3,000 to 4,000, Jain said.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Monday expressed hope that the peak of the second wave of the pandemic in Delhi has passed. However, no concessions can be allowed just yet, he had said.

Jain said on Tuesday the Delhi government has made all the preparations to ramp up vaccination but there are no vaccines available.

AAP leader Atishi had on Monday said the government will be forced to shut down vaccination centres administering Covaxin to people in the 18-44 age group after Tuesday evening due to a lack of jabs.

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Jain said the bed occupancy in the capital rose to around 22,000 this time as compared to the previous high of around 9,500.

The situation concerning oxygen supply has improved, but around 20,000 beds are still occupied, he said.

The minister ascribed the dip in the number of testing over the few days to the restricted movement of people due to the lockdown.

Around 80,000 tests are being conducted daily, he said.

Earlier, the average number of tests was around 1 lakh, according to government data.

On Tuesday, Delhi logged 12,481 infections with a positivity rate of 17.7, the lowest since April 14, when it stood at 15.9 per cent.

PTI

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