Last Updated : Oct 31, 2020 10:12 AM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com

Union Home Ministry to meet Delhi officials as COVID-19 cases see another spike in capital

As per the latest bulletin, Delhi's cases climbed to 3,81,644 and the death toll mounted to 6,470 after 47 deaths were reported on October 30.

Moneycontrol News

Representational image

Delhi reported the highest single-day rise of 5,891 COVID-19 cases on October 30, pushing the tally of coronavirus infections in the national capital to above 3.81 lakh. The positivity rate also shot up to nearly 10 percent in the city, as air pollution spikes and crowds grow due to the festival season.

To chalk out measures to contain surging coronavirus cases, the Union Home Ministry will hold a review meeting with Delhi government officials on October 31, Hindustan Times reported sources as saying.

The meeting will be chaired by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, Niti Aayog member Dr VK Paul and other senior officials will also attend the meeting, the report said.

Close

Bhushan had on October 29 reviewed the coronavirus situation in West Bengal, Kerala and Delhi.

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.

Show

The review meeting on the status of the infection in Delhi was held in the presence of VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, and Balram Bhargava, DG, ICMR.

"There has been a nearly 46 percent increase in new cases over the past four weeks. The rising cases were attributed by the Delhi team to social gatherings during the festivities, the deteriorating air quality, increasing incidences of respiratory disorders and clusters of positive cases at workplaces," said a statement issued by Union Health Ministry.

Read: Social gatherings in festivities, poor air quality among reasons for COVID-19 cases rise in Delhi: Govt

Delhi was advised to aggressively ramp up testing, increase RT-PCR tests, focus on contact tracing and effectively enforce isolation of the traced contacts within the first 72 hours.

As per the latest bulletin, the total number of cases in Delhi has climbed to 3,81,644, while the death toll mounted to 6,470 with 47 new fatalities on October 30. Delhi has 32,363 active cases of COVID-19 at present.

Click here for Moneycontrol’s full coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak

First Published on Oct 31, 2020 10:11 am