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9 Kovid deaths in Delhi in December, highest in 4 months: 10 points

December 31, 2021
Sezarr

A total of 14,46,415 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Delhi so far. (file)

New Delhi:
Delhi saw nine coronavirus deaths so far in December as the city battles a massive spike in virus cases, believed to be driven by the new Omron version. This is the highest death toll in the city in the last four months.

Here’s your 10-point cheatsheet for this big story:

  1. Delhi recorded five deaths in September, four in October and seven in November. The death toll in the city, which stood at 25,098 at the end of November, has now risen to 25,107 as of December 30.

  2. The city is also seeing a huge spike in coronavirus infections, with 1,313 new cases on Friday, believed to be driven by the Omicron version. According to the health department, Thursday’s count is the highest single-day increase since May 26.

  3. Delhi has seen a total of 14,46,415 COVID-19 cases so far, out of which 14.18 lakh patients have been cured. The positivity rate has increased to 1.73 percent.

  4. India is on alert in the Omron version with the country reporting 309 new cases on Friday. This takes the nationwide tally of omicrons to 1,270, of whom 374 patients have either been cured or migrated.

  5. Omicron cases have been reported from 23 states and union territories, with Maharashtra topping the list with 450 such cases, followed by Delhi (320), Kerala (109) and Gujarat (97).

  6. Delhi and other major cities have announced major restrictions in the wake of New Year’s celebrations, banning gatherings in an attempt to prevent the situation from worsening. Delhi had banned gatherings for both Christmas and New Year’s Eve, while Maharashtra has banned gatherings from 5 pm to 5 pm from today.

  7. Nearly 18 per cent of the samples tested in the last two weeks in the country have been found to be of the Omicron type, government sources have revealed, citing genome sequencing results. In Delhi, 50 per cent of the samples had tested for the new variant since December 12.

  8. Amidst the rise in cases, there is a fear of a third wave if not controlled in time. The city saw a brutal second wave earlier this year as an oxygen supply crisis and a lack of hospital beds overwhelmed its health system.

  9. Now, international passengers arriving at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport will have to self-isolate at institutional designated facilities, according to a government order. Those who test positive after RT-PCR tests and their contacts will be shifted to such facilities, reports news agency ANI.

  10. Across the country, 16,764 cases were reported in a span of 24 hours, taking the figure to cross the 16,000 mark in 64 days. Active cases rose to 91,361 while the death toll rose to 4,81,080 with 20 new deaths.

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