COVID-19 Restrictions To Return In Delhi?

Is India heading towards a fifth wave of COVID-19? Will this new recombinant variant XBB.1.16 lead to a massive surge in cases? Several questions are back in the minds of people residing in the national capital as the city reported over 300 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours. According to the data, this is the first time that Delhi saw a big jump in the daily infection rate ever since September 2022. CM Kejriwal Calls For Emergency Meeting Amid Huge Spike In Cases Taking cognizance of the deteriorating COVID situation in the national capital, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government called for an emergency meeting on Thursday. The panel in the meeting will discuss key points on how prepared the city is when it comes to handling a fresh COVID surge. The meeting has been called by Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj who will be accompanied by senior health department officials, medical directors of state-run hospitals and other stakeholders. The meeting comes a day after Delhi logged over 300 fresh cases of coronavirus, with a positivity rate closer to 14 per cent. What variant is behind the recent surge in daily cases in India? According to the officials, the recombinant variant XBB.1.16 which comes from Omicron and its variants is causing maximum cases in India currently. The XBB.1.16 variant has enhanced abilities to evade the immune system created by the vaccines, thus making fully vaccinated ones vulnerable too! Are these sudden jumps in cases and rising positivity rate -- signs of a new COVID wave in India? Speaking to the media, the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that XBB.1.16 is highly contagious in nature and is circulating rapidly. However, as of now, there is no need to panic. "The variant is capable of evading vaccine induce immunity. At this point more than getting panicked, one should focus more on following safety protocols -- wearing masks, hand sanitisation, and getting vaccinated is important." India's COVID Numbers Are Increasing Massively! Meanwhile, India has also reported a 50 per cent jump in its daily COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. As per the Union Health Ministry, as many as 3,016 fresh Covid cases were reported on Wednesday, the highest in nearly six months. According to the data, the country's COVID death toll touched 5,30,862, with 14 fresh fatalities in the last 24 hours. These 14 deaths were reported from Maharashtra, Delhi, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh