New Delhi Mar 31 PTI The NHRC on Thursday sent notices to the Delhi government and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee over the fire at Ghazipur landfill site and the reported slow pace of cleaning garbage there and at Bhalaswa officials saidA major fire had broken out at the Ghazipur dumping yard on Monday with the billowing smoke enveloping the area The fire was put out on Wednesday evening over 50 hours after it beganThe National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report on the alleged slow pace of cleaning garbage heaps at Ghazipur and Bhalaswa landfill sites in DelhiReportedly these catch fire every summer causing air pollution in the national capital the NHRC said in a statementExpressing serious concern the panel has issued notices to the Delhi chief secretary and chairperson of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee DPCC seeking a detailed report within four weeks it saidIssuing the notices the commission has observed that every human being has the basic right to breathe clean air and live in a pollution-free environmentInhalation of toxic air and living in the polluted environment is a serious threat to peoples right to life and right to health the statement saidThe panel has also observed that the state is duty-bound to take all appropriate steps to alleviate the sufferings of the common man by controlling and minimising the pollution levels in Delhi which does not appear to have been done as yetReportedly going by the present pace of clearing the garbage the local population will be exposed to serious health hazards in the years to come The hot winds will aggravate the fire and polluted air spread the adjoining areas leading to breathing problems it added PTI KND NSD NSD

New Delhi Mar 31 PTI Delhi reported 113 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 049 per cent and zero death due to the viral disease on Thursday according to data shared by the city health departmentWith these fresh cases the national capitals tally of cases has increased to 1864970 The death toll stands at 26152 it statedAs many as 23094 COVID-19 tests were conducted the previous day the department said in its latest bulletinDelhi on Wednesday reported 123 COVID-19 cases and one fatality due to the infection while the positivity rate stood at 050 per centThe city has recorded zero fatality count on multiple days this monthThe number of daily COVID-19 cases in Delhi has been on the decline after touching the record high of 28867 on January 13 Delhi had recorded a positivity rate of 306 per cent on January 14 the highest during the third wave of the pandemicThe surge in Covid cases in Delhi during the third wave of the pandemic was largely due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virusAmid the decline in daily cases the number of patients under home isolation in Delhi has also fallen significantly over the last few weeksAs of February 1 the total number of home isolation cases stood at 12312 The number stood at 324 on Thursday the bulletin statedThere are 9791 beds for COVID-19 patients in Delhi hospitals and 62 063 per cent of them are occupied it said PTI KND NSD NSD

New Delhi Mar 24 PTI Fixed Covid vaccination centres at school complexes and other educational institutions will be discontinued from April 1 given these institutions are set to reopen soon amid a fall in infection according to an official orderDelhi on Thursday reported 132 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 040 per cent and zero death Fixed COVID-19 vaccination centres at school complexes and other educational institutions for the general population shall be discontinued with effect from April 1 2022Covid vaccination will be available at all GNCTD Delhi government health facilities and hospitals during the regular timings of these health facilities with due rationalisation of session sites as per the vaccination load at the CVC which shall be reviewed from time to time stated the order by the city health department authoritiesThe countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with the healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase Vaccination of the frontline workers started from February 2 last yearThe next phase of Covid vaccination commenced on March 1 last year for people over 60 years and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditionsThe country launched vaccination for all people aged above 45 years from April 1 last yearCovid vaccination will also be available at health facilities of other agencies viz MCD CGHS ESI Railways Armed Forces Cantonment Board etc during facility timings the March 24 order statedAlso if there is a requirement vaccination sessions may be conducted in a camp mode in other community establishments including community halls banquet halls and RWAs observing the Union governments guidelines it saidTo cover the 12-14 year and the remaining 15-17 years first and second dose cohorts vaccination shall be conducted at school sites in camp mode as required in close coordination with the education department Out-of-school children shall be mobilised to the nearby health facilities the order mentionedThe sessions shall be on all six days of the week at hospitals In primary healthcare facilities the sessions shall be four days a week except for the two RI days This will ensure the availability of sufficient daily vaccination capacity it statedAny local-level change in timingsextension of timings of the session sites may be planned at the level of DIO based on the local needs Home-based vaccination requests for bed-ridden and immobile beneficiaries shall be covered by the area catering health facility it said PTI KND NSD NSD

New Delhi Dec 24 PTI The national capital on Friday recorded 180 fresh Covid cases the highest single-day rise since June 16 and zero death while the positivity rate mounted to 029 per cent according to data shared by Delhis health departmentOn June 16 the city had logged 212 COVID-19 casesThe total number of cases reported in Delhi so far rose to 1442813 Over 1416 lakh patients have recovered from the infectionThe death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi stands at 25103 Five deaths have been reported in December so farDelhi has witnessed an uptick in COVID-19 infections in the last few days amid a jump in cases of the new Omicron variantThe city had on Wednesday logged 125 cases which was then the highest daily count since June 22 The positivity rate was 020 per cent On Friday 180 fresh cases were recorded with an increased positivity rate of 029 per centOn Thursday the daily case count stood at 118 with a positivity rate of 019 per cent while one death was reportedSeven COVID-19 deaths were reported here in November four in October and five in SeptemberA total of 62697 tests with 57583 RT-PCR and 5114 rapid antigen ones were conducted a day ago the bulletin said PTI KND NSD NSD

New Delhi Dec 18 PTI The national capital on Saturday recorded 86 fresh COVID-19 cases in a day the highest in over five months and zero death as the positivity rate stood at 013 per cent according to data shared by the citys health departmentOn July 8 Delhi had reported 93 coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 012 per cent and three deathsThe rise in cases is being recorded amid the Omicron scare in Delhi as the total number of patients infected with the latest variant of coronavirus jumped by 12 on Friday to reach 22The number of Covid cases recorded in Delhi so far has reached 1442090 Over 1416 lakh patients have recovered from the diseaseOn Thursday 85 cases were recorded with a positivity rate of 015 per cent while on Friday the daily cases count stood at 69 with a positivity rate of 012 per centDelhi had logged 76 cases on July 10 with a positivity rate of 009 per cent while the daily tally had risen to 85 on August 1 when one death was also recorded as per official dataThe death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi stands at 25100Two deaths due to COVID-19 have been recorded in December so far in Delhi Seven COVID-19 deaths were reported in November four in October and five in SeptemberThe case positivity rate was 013 per cent on Saturday according to the health bulletin On Wednesday 57 cases were recorded in Delhi with a positivity rate of 010 per centA total of 66096 tests -- 59901 RT-PCR and 6195 rapid antigen tests -- were conducted a day ago the bulletin statedDelhi currently has 484 active cases up from 466 on Friday The number of people under home isolation stood at 203 on Saturday while it was 210 a day beforeThe number of containment zones in the city stood at 153 up from 145 on Friday the bulletin saidDelhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had on Thursday said many international travellers are being tested Covid positive upon arrival at the Indira Gandhi International AirportChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the city government is ready to tackle the Omicron variantHe said Delhi was unlikely to face another wave of infections since according to the serosurvey conducted by the Delhi government 96 per cent of the state population was found to have antibodies and a majority of them were vaccinatedAmid the jump in cases of Omicron variant in Delhi doctors said people should avoid all gatherings and follow Covid-appropriate behaviours else the pandemic situation may worsen given the highly transmissible nature of this variant of coronavirusHealth experts and doctors treating Covid patients at leading government and private facilities in the city have said that a sense of complacency has again crept in among a large section of citizens despite witnessing the horrors of the second wave of Covid infections earlier this yearJain had recently said that medical infrastructure was being ramped up and 37000 beds dedicated for COVID-19 patients were being set up to tackle the anticipated third wave of the pandemic PTI KND NSD NSD

New Delhi Dec 18 PTI The national capital on Saturday recorded 86 fresh COVID-19 cases in a day the highest in over five months and zero death as the positivity rate stood at 013 per cent according to data shared by the citys health departmentOn July 8 Delhi had reported 93 coronavirus casesThe rise in cases is being recorded amid the Omicron scare in Delhi as the total number of patients infected with the latest variant of coronavirus jumped by 12 on Friday to reach 22The number of Covid cases recorded in Delhi so far reached 1442090 Over 1416 lakh patients have recovered from the diseaseOn Thursday 85caseswere recorded with a positivity rate of 015 per cent while on Friday the daily cases count stood at 69 with a positivity rate of 012 per centThe death toll due to the coronavirus infection in Delhi stands at 25100Two deaths due to COVID-19 have been recorded in December so far in Delhi Seven COVID-19 deaths were reported in November four in October and five in SeptemberThe case positivity rate was 013 per cent on Saturday according to the health bulletin On Wednesday 57caseswere recorded in Delhi with a positivity rate of 010 per centA total of 66096 tests -- 59901 RT-PCR and 6195 rapid antigen tests -- were conducted a day ago the bulletin stated PTI KND NSD NSD

New Delhi Dec 17 PTI Amid a jump in Omicron cases in Delhi doctors on Friday said people should avoid all gatherings and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour else the pandemic situation may worsen given the highly transmissible nature of this variant of coronavirusHealth experts and doctors treating Covid patients at leading government and private facilities in the city said a sense of complacency has again crept in among a large section of citizens despite witnessing the horrors of the second wave of Covid infections earlier this yearDelhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday said 10 new cases of the new Omicron variant have been detected in the national capital taking the tally to 20Ten of these patients have been discharged he saidThe rise in cases of Omicron variant comes ahead of the Christmas and New Year occasions which see massive gatherings of people in public and get-togethers at homeThe minister had on Thursday said many international travellers are turning out Covid positive upon arrival at the Indira Gandhi International AirportA couple of days earlier he had said the Omicron variant of coronavirus has not spread in the community so far and the situation is under controlDelhis first case of the Omicron variant -- a 37-year-old man from Ranchi -- was detected on December 5 He was discharged on MondayA senior doctor at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan LNJP Hospital the nerve centre of Delhis fight against the pandemic since 2020 all these remaining ten patients are asymptomatic and aged in the region of 18-55Omicron is highly transmissible The first thing people need to do is avoid all gatherings of any form and follow all Covid-appropriate behaviour such as wearing masks following social distancing using sanitiser and not become lax at all she saidDoctors at other government and private hospitals concurred that a similar complacency level among a larger section of citizens was seen just before the second waveWe saw the same laxity among people then and seeing it now again Even though almost all families saw the death of near and dear ones or heard of someone losing their family members we still havent learnt any lessons it seems sadly said Dr Suranjit Chatterjee a senior consultant at Apollo Hospitals hereHe said in November he didnt attend to any Covid case and in December it has increased to five to six patients daily on an averageThe cases are mild But it is a highly transmissible variant and people may still need admission So God forbid if the situation repeats our healthcare infrastructure will again be under strain Chatterjee saidThe doctor at Apollo hospital himself a Covid survivor emphasised that both the government authorities and people need to be very pro-active in battling the pandemic with due seriousness which he felt was lacking at the momentDrRichaSareen consultant pulmonology at Fortis hospital here said Either we learn from our past or be left to face again the horrors as we saw during the second wavePeople must realise that this Omicron is a highly transmissible variant and the situation in the West now will be mirrored here as anticipated All we can do is be prepared and not lower our guard when it comes to following Covid-appropriate behaviours she saidThe first death due to Omicron variant of coronavirus has happened in the UK and it will be wise to gear up now before its late again Sareen addedAll the three doctors however said in terms of hospital admissions there is no jump as such but the situation is being closely watched as daily Covid cases also registered a big jump on ThursdayThe national capital recorded 85 cases on Thursday the highest in over four months while the positivity rate rose to 015 per centAt LNJP Hospital where patients detected with Omicron variant are being kept in an isolated area doctors said that resources and manpower are sufficient as of now but everyone is highly alertTwo deaths due to coronavirus infection have been recorded in December so far -- December 6 and December 8 Seven COVID-19deathswere reported in Delhi in November PTI KND NSD NSD

New Delhi Nov 17 PTI East Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal on Wednesday said that he has suspended 17 members of the opposition AAP from the BJP-led EDMC House for 15 days for alleged misconduct during proceedingsThere was no immediate reaction from the Aam Aadmi Party AAPOn September 27Aggarwal had suspended20 AAP members of the East Delhi civic body for 15 days for allegedly creating ruckus and indulging in misconduct during the proceedings of the House a move that had drawn sharp reaction from the opposition partyOn Wednesday Aggarwal said The opposition members wanted a discussion on dengue and the pollution situation The ruling party members wanted to discuss the pollution issue first I asked them to begin with the pollution issue and then move to the dengue matter But they AAP members insisted that the dengue situation in national capital be discussed first and then created ruckus in the House he claimedThe mayor alleged that AAP members then trooped to the Well of the House and indulged in misconduct during its proceedingsThe civic polls in Delhi are due to be held next yearEDMC House has 64 members The BJP has been controlling all three municipal corporations for over a decade nowI have suspended 17 AAP members including Leader of Opposition in EDMC for 15 days These include 10 elected members and seven nominated members Aggarwal saidDengue cases in Delhi have seen a massive surge in November triggering a blame game between ruling BJP in civic bodies and AAP which leads the Delhi government in the cityThe number of dengue cases in Delhi this season has crossed 5270 the highest in the national capital in a year since 2015 according to a report released on MondayNearly 2570 fresh cases of the vector-borne disease were logged in the city in the last one week However no fresh fatality was reported According to the report on vector-borne diseases a total of 5277denguecases were recorded this year till November 13Meanwhile the EDMC House approved a proposed project on bio-mining of 50 lakh tonne of legacy waste in Ghazipur landfill dump the mayor saidHowever the House postponed a proposal on a policy to allow the use of open-air spaces and terraces abutting licensed eateries as service areas subject to several conditionsThe standing committee of the EDMC on November 12 had given its nod to this policy as well as the Ghazipur landfill project PTI KND NSD NSD

New Delhi Oct 19 PTI The minimum temperature in the national capital on Tuesday settled at 224 degrees Celsius officials saidThe humidity in the morning was recorded at 91 per cent the India Meteorological Department said The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 29 degrees CelsiusOn Monday the minimum temperature had settled at 201 degrees Celsius and rains cooled the weather later in the day with the maximum temperature being recorded at 239 degrees CelsiusThe Air Quality Index AQI of Delhi on Tuesday morning was at the satisfactory level 59 data from Central Pollution Control Board showed For Anand Vihar the AQI was satisfactory and at ITO Delhi R K Puram and Pusa it was in the good categoryAn AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severeThe IMD has forecast south-westerly winds later in the day PTI KND NSD NSD

New Delhi Sep 25 PTI In total 28000 samples will be collected for the latest Covid serosurvey making it the largest exercise in the national capital that seeks to determine the prevalence of antibodies among the populace Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on SaturdayThe survey got underway on Friday amid fewer COVID-19 cases being reported in the city for many weeks nowAccording to sources vaccination history will be collected from the participants of the survey A large segment of the city population has already received anti-coronavirus vaccine dosesThe previous survey was conducted a few months ago when Delhi was reeling under the brutal second wave of the pandemic The exercise was impacted by the second wave and its results were not officially published by the authoritiesThe city government has termed the latest round of the sero-survey as the sixth in the seriesJain on Saturday told reporters that a total of 28000 samples will be collected as part of the sixth round of the serological surveyDelhi has 272 municipal wards plus eight under the Delhi Cantonment Board From each of these wards 100 samples will be collected So it will be by far the largest such exercise he saidThe samples will be collected in a week It will take another week to prepare the report Jain addedThe Delhi Health Department in a statement said It is one of the biggest serological surveys and we are hoping for a more accurate and positive report after the survey is over Jain said that experts expect to find high seropositivity in this surveyAlso the exercise is taking place at a time when a large segment of the population has been vaccinated against COVID-19Delhi has a population of over 2 crore spread across 11 districtsAccording to Delhis vaccination bulletin issued on Friday over 167 crore doses have been administered to date and it includes over 11 crore first doses and over 51 lakh second dosesThe fifth sero-survey which was conducted earlier this year found that over 56 per cent of Delhis population was exposed to Covid As part of thesurveywhich had ended around January 21 samples were collected from over 25000 people from various districts across the cityExperts say herd immunity is said to have been developed in a population segment if 50-60 per cent are found to have the presence of anti-bodies in aseroprevalence surveyThe first seroprevalence survey conducted last year from June 27-July 10 by the Delhi government in association with the National Centre for Disease Control had used 21387 samples and found that around 23 per cent of the people surveyed had exposure to the novel coronavirusThe exercise in August 2020 showed 291 per cent of people had coronavirus antibodies In the surveys of September and October last year the figures stood at251 per cent and 255 per cent respectivelyThe exercises have been undertaken for a comprehensive assessment of the COVID-19 situation in Delhi and to formulate strategies based on its findings PTI KND NSD NSD