Delhi records 1,656 COVID-19 cases, highest in 3 months; positivity rate 5.39%

Eminent epidemiologist Dr Chandrakant Lahariya had earlier said the test positivity rate is stagnant, and it means the infection is spreading at the same rate and that there is no wave.

PTI

May 06, 2022 / 20:42 IST

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Delhi recorded 1,656 COVID-19 cases and zero fatality due to the infection on Friday, the highest since February 4, while the positivity rate stood at 5.39 percent, according to data shared by the city health department.

A total of 30,709 tests for the detection of coronavirus were conducted in the city a day before, it stated. The number of fresh coronavirus cases was the highest recorded in a single day since February 4 when the city had recorded 2,272 new infections at a positivity rate of 3.85 percent, and 20 related deaths.

With the new cases, the national capital's overall COVID-19 infection tally rose to 18,91,425, while the death toll stood at 26,177, the data showed. The national capital had recorded 1,365 COVID-19 cases and zero fatality due to the infection on Thursday, while the positivity rate had stood at 6.35 percent.

Delhi had reported 1,354 cases with a positivity rate of 7.64 percent and one fatality due to the disease on Wednesday. On Tuesday, it had reported 1,414 cases with a positivity rate of 5.97 percent and one death due to the disease. There are 6,096 active cases in the national capital, up from 5,746 the previous day. The number of containment zones has risen to 1,597 from 1,473 on Thursday, according to the latest health bulletin.

The hospitalisation rate has so far been low, accounting for less than three percent of the total number of active cases, it stated. Currently, 200 COVID-19 patients are admitted in Delhi hospitals, while 4,269 are recuperating in home isolation, the bulletin stated.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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