Flu-like illness sees a rise in Delhi amid Covid spike, 80% homes affected: Survey

India

oi-Deepika S

New
Delhi,
Aug
18:
Delhi
is
witnessing
its
worst
bout
of
viral
fever
and
Covid
with
eight
out
of
10
households
affected
in
the
last
30
days,
a
survey
by
LocalCircles
has
revealed.

The
survey
received
over
11,000
responses
from
residents
of
Delhi,
Gurugram,
Ghaziabad,
Noida
and
Faridabad.
Sixty-three
per
cent
of
the
respondents
were
men
and
37
per
cent
were
women.

According
to
the
study
by
LocalCircles,
54
per
cent
of
the
respondents
said
they
had
at
least
two
members
in
their
family
who
had
one
or
more
symptoms
of
viral
fever
such
as
fever,
runny
nose,
cough,
headache,
bodyache,
among
others,
in
the
last
30
days.

Twenty-three
per
cent
of
the
respondents
said
they
had
four
or
more
members
in
their
family
who
had
these
symptoms.
Compared
to
these
figures,
just
42
per
cent
of
the
households
had
one
or
more
individuals
who
had
symptoms
of
viral
fever
during
the
corresponding
time
last
year.
Coronavirus
is
likely
to
have
led
to
the
surge
this
year.

The
online
platform
also
reported
that
in
most
cases,
people
have
been
opting
for
home
kits
to
test
if
they
have
Covid
or
viral
fever.
Delhi
has
reported
a
surge
in
COVID-19
cases
over
the
last
two
to
three
weeks.

Experts
have
said
people
not
following
Covid-appropriate
behaviour
and
flouting
the
mask
mandate
is
a
major
reason
behind
the
rapid
spread
of
the
disease
in
the
national
capital.

Delhi
had
on
Tuesday
reported
a
positivity
rate
of
19.20
per
cent,
the
highest
since
January
20.
On
Friday
last
week,
it
saw
10
deaths,
the
highest
in
six
months.