3rd wave in Delhi: Doctors advise people to follow Covid norms

New Delhi, Jan 5 Even as Delhi is in the middle of a third wave of coronavirus, city doctors on Wednesday advised not to panic but to strictly adhere to the Covid norms such as maintaining social distance, wearing masks, maintaining proper sanitisation, and getting vaccinated.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday morning announced the start of a third Covid wave in the national capital, and warned the cases can jump to close to 10,000 with the infection rate nearing 10 per cent by the evening.

By evening, as predicted by Jain, Delhi reported 10,665 fresh Covid-19 cases - highest since May 12 - and eight deaths, and the positivity rate also shot up to 11.88 per cent. The number of active cases in the capital now stands at 23,307.

Talking to , Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder Director, Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals, said: "The pillars of precautions remain the same as with previous waves: social distancing, masks, sanitisation, and vaccines. If we continue to bear these four things in mind, the wave will be mild and we will not see pressure on hospitals and healthcare providers."

The rapid increase in cases could also be due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Covid that is reportedly driving the third wave in the national capital. Delhi on Wednesday reported 464 Omicron cases, the second-highest in the country after Maharashtra