Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh on Friday confirmed a resurgence of COVID-19 in the capital as 23 new cases were detected through private laboratories.
In a press statement, Singh said the government is currently investigating whether the infected individuals are residents of Delhi or have arrived from other states or abroad. “The Delhi government is verifying whether the patients are from within the city or have come from outside or overseas,” he told a news agency.
Reassuring the public, Singh said the government is fully prepared to respond to the rising cases. Medical superintendents across Delhi hospitals have been alerted, and frontline medical teams have been briefed.
Urging citizens not to panic, the minister said the currently circulating JN.1 variant appears to cause only mild, flu-like symptoms. “All 23 patients reported so far are stable,” he added, noting that a detailed report will be released soon.
In response to a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the capital, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Friday issued a directive to bolster preparedness across government and private hospitals.
All medical directors, superintendents, and hospital administrators have been instructed to ensure availability of essential resources, including hospital beds, oxygen, antibiotics, and other critical drugs. Life-saving equipment such as ventilators, BiPAP machines, and oxygen concentrators must be kept in fully functional condition.
The directive also calls for refresher training for dedicated staff to ensure readiness in case of a surge. In a bid to strengthen surveillance, the DGHS has mandated that all COVID-19 positive samples be sent to Lok Nayak Hospital for whole genome sequencing, enabling timely detection of emerging variants.
“Hospitals must strictly report COVID-19 cases as well as related illnesses such as Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) on a daily basis through the Integrated Health Portal (IHP) and Delhi State Health Data Management Portal.” stated the official order.
The agency also advised all hospital premises and health facilities to follow respiratory etiquette, including wearing masks.