Should Delhiites worry about rising Omicron cases? Here's what the numbers say

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on Tuesday, announced a ‘yellow’ alert under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the capital city after a surge in the new Omicron Covid variant cases.

However, the Chief Minister reassuring the public said that Covid-19 infection cases are rising in Delhi, “but there is no need to panic as most people have mild symptoms.”

But, does Delhi really not have to worry?

Delhi home to the most number of Omicron cases

The national capital reported its first Omicron case on December 5 after a foreign returnee tested positive for the new variant. Since then till December 25, there were not many cases of Omicron found in the city. However, from December 26, Delhi saw a rapid increase in its Omicron tally.

As of December 29, Delhi has recorded the maximum number of 238 Omicron cases. Amid the rising numbers, the Arvind Kejriwal government declared a ‘yellow’ alert with more restrictions in place to contain the spread. The 'yellow' alert is sounded when the Covid-19 positivity rate stays over 0.5 per cent on two consecutive days.

Under the ‘yellow’ alert shutting schools, cinemas and gyms are closed with immediate effect as well as shops in malls are allowed to operate only on an odd-even basis.

Also Read | Amid surge in Covid-19 infections, India imposes more curbs

Ahead of New Year, the Delhi government imposed a night curfew in the capital city from December 27.

Delhi logs highest daily Covid cases since May 30

Showing a massive spike in Covid-19 cases, the capital city logged 923 new infections on December 30, which is the highest since May 30.

On May 30, Delhi had recorded 946 Covid-19 cases and 78 deaths with a positivity rate of 1.25 per cent.

Also Read | Omicron is spreading in community: Delhi Health Minister

The previous day, Delhi recorded the highest daily Covid cases since June 4. And today, it registered a 86 per cent jump in the number of infections. The positivity rate climbed to 1.29 per cent from 0.89 per cent on Tuesday.

So far, 2,59,19,091 people in Delhi have taken either the first or second dose of their Covid-19 vaccination.

Check out the latest videos from DH: