Covid cases rising but most patients asymptomatic, have mild symptoms; hospitalisation low: Kejriwal
New Delhi(PTI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said though the capital is witnessing a sharp spike in the number of daily cases and active cases of coronavirus, there is no need to panic as most patients are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms and do not need hospitalisation.
He presented data to show that despite an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, oxygen bed occupancy is less than one per cent in hospitals and is very low as compared to the deadly second wave of coronavirus in April last year.
"Currently, the number of active cases in the city is 6,360 and today (Sunday) 3,100 new cases are expected to be reported. All cases are mild and in most of them patients don't need hospitalisation," the CM said in a virtual press conference.
Active COVID-19 cases rose from about 2,000 on December 29, 2021 to 6,000 on January 1, but the number of patients in hospitals dipped during this period. On December 29, 2021 as many as 262 beds were occupied, while on January 1 it was only 247, he said.
According to the latest health bulletin, Kejriwal said only 82 oxygen beds are occupied and 99.72 per cent are vacant.
"There has been no major change in this number over the last three days which means no new patient required oxygen. If the need arises, the Delhi government is prepared with 37,000 such beds," the chief minister said.
"On March 27 last year, Delhi had 6,600 active cases and 1,150 oxygen beds were occupied. As many as 145 patients were on ventilator support compared to five now," he said.
Delhi would record around 10 deaths a day during that period. At present, the daily fatality count is zero or one, he said.
The capital reported 2,716 cases on Saturday, the highest single-day rise since May 21, and the positivity rate mounted to 3.64 per cent.
"On April 1, when the city last logged around 2,700 cases, around 1,700 oxygen beds were occupied and 231 patients were on ventilator support," he said.
"I am presenting this data to show that the coronavirus cases at present are very mild and there is no need to panic. We have to act responsibly, wear masks, wash hands regularly and follow social distancing norms," Kejriwal said.
On Saturday, Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that hospital occupancy is still low and further restrictions will be reviewed soon.
While the emergence of the new Omicron variant has sparked fears of a third wave, there has been a constant surge in the COVID-19 tally in the national capital which recorded 7,865 cases in the last seven days.
The positivity rate has risen to 3.64 per cent from 0.55 per cent on December 26.
The city on Saturday recorded 351 cases of Omicron.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
