Covid cases rising in Delhi but people not developing severe disease: Satyendar Jain

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said that though COVID-19 cases have increased in the capital, people are not developing severe disease and the hospitalisation rate is low.

He attributed the low hospitalisation rate to vaccination and naturally acquired immunity.

"Though Covid cases have increased in Delhi, people are not developing severe disease and the hospitalisation rate is low. This is because our population is fully vaccinated and a large number of people have had the disease in the past," Jain told reporters here.

He also said there is no need to panic about Covid cases among children. Several serosurveys have shown that though the infection rate among children and adults is almost the same, the severity of disease is "very low" in children.

With the national capital witnessing an uptick in coronavirus infections over the past few days, the number of active cases on Wednesday stood at 4,832, up from 601 on April 11, according to health department data.

However, the hospitalisation rate so far has been low, accounting for less than three per cent of the total active cases, the health department's bulletin said on Wednesday.

As many as 129 COVID-19 patients are admitted to Delhi hospitals, while 3,336 are recuperating in home isolation, it said.

Earlier, when Delhi would have 5,000 active cases, Jain said, 1,000 people would require hospitalisation. Of the 9,390 beds available for COVID-19 patients in various hospitals, only 148 (1.58 percent) are occupied.

"We have around 1,000 beds at present. We ramp up their number if needed," he said.