Delhi may witness 14,000 new cases by Thursday evening: Satyendar Jain

New Delhi, Jan 6L The national capital is likely to witness around 14,000 new Covid-19 cases by Thursday evening, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said.

"Delhi likely to witness 14,000 fresh Covid cases today and the daily positivity rate may rise to around 14 per cent", he said at a press briefing here on Thursday.

While talking about the Covid death ratio in the city, he said that at present, one death per 1,000 cases is being reported which is better than the last wave.

Expressing concern over the rising Covid infections, Jain said that the picture will be clearer in the next three to four days, adding that the government has made full preparations to deal with the situation.

"We have been conducting a large number of tests. If we don't do that, the new cases can reduce to 500-1,000. A lot of states don't conduct tests and say they don't have cases. We have been transparent," he said, adding that Delhi is conducting the maximum number of tests in the country.

Replying to a question on healthcare workers testing positive for Covid, he said that the number is not alarming and that no person has died of Omicron infection since the outbreak of the variant.

Delhi has already taken stringent measures, including imposing a night and weekend curfew, which are sufficient for the time being. There is no need for a lockdown right now, he said while talking about a possible lockdown in the national capital.