Delhi: Omicron found in 80% of samples taken from deceased patients till Feb 22

Eighty per cent of the samples taken from those who died of COVID-19 in Delhi till February 22 this year had the Omicron variant, according to government data.

Genome sequencing of 239 samples collected from the deceased showed 191 of them with the Omicron variant.

The remaining 48 (20 per cent) had other variants of COVID-19, including Delta which fuelled the ferocious second wave of infections in April and May last year, and sub lineages.

Overall, the Omicron variant was found in 92 per cent of the 626 samples analysed at genome sequencing laboratories in the capital till February 22 this year, according to the data.

Two per cent of the samples had Delta, and other variants accounted for six per cent of the samples.

The third wave of infections driven by the Omicron variant saw lesser hospitalisations and severe cases in the national capital and government data showed the virus isn't the primary reason in most fatalities.

A maximum of 2,784 (17.96 per cent) of the 15,505 COVID-19 beds in hospitals were occupied on January 17. During the second wave, 20,117 (92 per cent) of the 21,839 beds were occupied on May 6.

The number of daily cases in Delhi has been declining after touching the record high of 28,867 on January 13.

The city saw a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 15 and 45 deaths on January 22, the highest in the third wave of the pandemic.

Amid the dip in cases, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday decided to withdraw all Covid-related restrictions, including night curfew in Delhi, restart physical classes in schools from April 1 and reduce the fine for not wearing masks from Rs 2,000 to Rs 500.