Delhi records 27,561 fresh Covid cases, 40 deaths

Delhi on Wednesday reported 27,561 new cases of Covid19 and 40 deaths. The positivity rate in the city stands at 26.22 per cent. On Tuesday, the city had recorded 21,259 Covid-19 cases and 23 deaths.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said on Wednesday that restrictions in the national capital will be lifted if Covid-19 cases decrease in the next 2-3 days. The city on Wednesday recorded no fresh Omicron cases, keeping the total number of detected cases so far at 546, which is the third-highest tally in the country after Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, it has come to the fore that a whopping 1,700 Delhi Police personnel have tested positive for the coronavirus infection since January 1. The Delhi Police force comprises over 80,000 personnel, police said.

"A total of 1,700 personnel of the force have tested positive for the infection from January 1 to January 12. All of them are doing fine and are under quarantine. They will be joining duty after recovery," a senior police officer said.

A special camp was organised for administering booster shots to frontline workers of the Delhi Police, the staffers working at its headquarters on Jai Singh Marg, they said.

"Special arrangements for administering precaution dose (booster) of Covid vaccine was organised from 11:30 am onwards at officers' lounge on the ground floor of the PHQ. This initiative was taken so that staffers like guards among others deployed at our headquarters do not have to go outside during their duty hours to get booster shots. But only those eligible police personnel, who have completed nine months after taking their second dose of vaccine, would be eligible for the booster shots," Special Commissioner of Police (Welfare) Shalini Singh said.

According to police, total 396 personnel were given the booster dose, including a number of senior officers.

In a meeting held on Tuesday with senior officers of districts and other units, the officers were strictly instructed to brief their personnel to take care of themselves and follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to prevent coronavirus amid rising cases among the force, police said.

"We have issued detailed SOPs in this regard and have listed the preventive measures to be taken. In Tuesday's meeting, all the officers were asked to take care of themselves and the force to conduct briefings of staffers regularly and instruct them to follow the issued SOP strictly. Being frontline workers, they are bound to perform their duties so they should do it with full precautions," Singh asserted.

She further stressed that officers have been instructed to strictly convey to their personnel the importance of following social distancing, wearing masks and maintaining hand hygiene while on duty.

"We have also told the personnel that social distancing should be maintained while they are in their respective barracks and mess. They have been asked to sanitise their keys after their shift while they handover vehicles to the next shift incharge," the officer said.