Aishwarya Sharma
14th September 2020
On 10th September 2020, Delhi witnessed its second-biggest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases. As per the health bulletin released by the Delhi government, a fresh case count of 4,266 has taken the total number of cases to 2,09,748.
On the previous day, Delhi had recorded what is now its second-highest single-day spike of 4,306 cases. The city has been experiencing a daily rise in COVID-19 cases since mid-august with an upwards trend.
According to India Today, this rise in cases could possibly represent a second wave of COVID-19 in Delhi. Before this, the first wave peaked in late June with an approximate of 3,000 cases recorded per day. Fortunately, the number of cases fell steadily at the beginning of July, and by the end of the month, Delhi was recording only 1,000 cases per day.
Contrary to popular belief, the second wave may not be as devastating as the first wave due to the fact that the number of people tested has gone up, but the percentage of people testing positive has fallen from 7.3 per cent to 7 per cent.
With the increase in patients in the past three weeks, Delhi is almost back to where it was during mid-June. This could be a result of the upliftment of restrictions, the opening of public places, and the return of migrant labourers from different parts of the country.
As stated by India Today, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requested the citizens of the capital not to panic in few of the rising number of cases recorded. He mentioned that the rise in new COVID-19 cases is a result of aggressive testing strategies. “The number of people tested during Delhi's first peak is almost half of what it is during its second peak”. he mentioned in the same statement.
A new record of COVID-19 testing was done in Delhi, computing 60,580 tests in one day, according to The Hindu. The Delhi model was implemented during the first phase. It included rapid testing, promoted home isolation for asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, and plasma therapy for seriously ill patients.
The Delhi government, after the second-highest spike in fresh cases, decided to implement Mohalla clinics for aggressive testing for COVID-19 on all working days between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., states The Hindu.
(Sources: The Hindu, India Today, Hindustan Times)
Edited by Nayana Dhanya