Amid a spate of Covid-19 cases in parts of India, Delhi has detected 23 active cases of novel coronavirus infection till Thursday, Health Minister Pankaj Jain said on Friday.

All of these cases have been reported after tests conducted at private labs, Jain said, adding that it is yet to be ascertained whether these cases originated in Delhi or came from outside the city.

“In the wake of the number of cases reported, we are in constant touch with medical superintendents of all hospitals in Delhi. The Delhi government is fully prepared to tackle any situation. There is no need to panic as the latest variant looks like a common influenza only,” Jain said while speaking to the media.

All the 23 patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 are stable and out of danger, Jain added.

“All the hospitals in the city are fully equipped and prepared for any emergency. There is no dearth of oxygen cylinders, testing kits or any other facility to take care of Covid-positive patients,” the Delhi health minister said. “We have set up an 8-member team which visits hospitals taking stock of the preparations”.

However, the administration is not expecting any emergency situation to crop up, Jain assured, as he looked to allay fears around the surge in the number of cases across India and some Asian countries.

Kerala has seen the biggest surge in Covid-19 infections, with 182 infections reported across the state so far in May.

A total of 53 active cases have been reported from Mumbai with no recent deaths related to the infection.

On Monday, the director general of health services chaired a review meeting of experts from the National Centre for Disease Control, Emergency Medical Relief division, Disaster Management Cell, the Indian Council of Medical Research and Central government hospitals.

Meanwhile, hospitals have been instructed to monitor influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory infection cases.

Tune In