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

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.