NEW DELHI, Jan 3: While the covid cases are mounting in the Capital sharply, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has appealed to Delhiites not to panic as the severity of infection is far less than what it was during the second wave in the country in April last and hospitalisation is very low this time.

The daily cases rose from 6,360 on Saturday to 8,397 on Sunday. The number of beds occupied on Saturday was 246 and 99 % of covid beds were vacant, Kejriwal told reporters in a virtual press conference on Sunday. The Test Positivity Rate (TPR) was 4.59 %.

In comparison, on March 27 last as the second wave was rising, there were 6,600 daily cases but 1,700 oxygen beds were occupied and 231 ventilators were being used. On that day there were 10 deaths due to covid while now there is hardly one casualty a day. As of Saturday, there were only 94 patients requiring oxygen support and four were on ventilators.

He said the covid infections are mild, mostly not needing hospitalisation. The severity of Omicron variant too is low the world over, although its transmission is faster than the Delta variant which swept through the country early this year claiming very heavy casualties.

The Chief Minister said there are 37,000 oxygen beds available today and another 6,800 more would be added by February.

Countrywide, there were 33,750 new cases reported on Sunday, taking the tally to 3,49,22,882 while there were only 6,358 daily cases a week ago. However, the death rate has not shown any marked increase. The casualties on Sunday were 123, the total so far being 4,81,893. The TPR was 3.84 %, the weekly average being 1.68 %.

India reported 1,700 Omicron cases till Sunday, according to the Health Ministry. These were detected in 23 States. Maharashtra has recorded the maximum number of 510 cases, Delhi 351, Kerala 156, Gujarat 136, Tamil Nadu 121 and Rajasthan 120.