As the COVID-19 cases in Delhi are subsiding, dwindling in double digits, the national capital has been taken by another infection in the past few weeks. Delhi has recorded nearly 1,200 dengue fever cases in the month of October, striking fear in the citizens and authorities.
Official data further showed that the number of dengue cases logged in October this year is the highest for the month in the last four years in Delhi. The number stood higher for October back in 2017, when the city recorded over 2,000 cases of dengue in one month.
The data from civic authorities showed that over 1,530 dengue cases have been recorded in Delhi this year, out of which around 1,200 cases have been recorded just in the month of October. In the last three years, the number of dengue cases recorded in Delhi from January 1 to October 30 was 612 in 2020; 1,069 in 2019, and 1,595 in 2018.
The number of deaths due to dengue in Delhi also stands at the highest since 2017, as per the civic body report. Till now, there have been a total of six deaths in Delhi because of dengue, out of which, five deaths were reported in the month of October.
As the number of dengue cases is increasing while the COVID-19 cases are decreasing in the national capital, the Delhi government has asked all the hospitals to allocate a third of the COVID-19 beds to dengue, malaria, and chikungunya patients.
In view of the rising dengue cases in Delhi, the Centre has allocated and sent a team of experts to the city and eight other states to impart technical guidance for managing the outbreak. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also chaired a high-level meeting with the states in this regard.
As per the civic report released by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), a total of 1,530 cases of dengue have been reported in Delhi, while 160 cases of malaria and 81 cases of chikungunya have been reported in the national capital this year, till October 30.
