Though Delta might have arrived in the state much earlier, but it emerged in the form of a wave in April, 2021. Delta’s first worst-affected month was April, in which 2.64 lakh of the 17.5 lakh samples tested positive with a positivity rate of 15% and 1,421 persons died.
Omicron was first reported in December, but it emerged in the form of a wave in January. Omicron’s first worst-affected month was January in which 2.5 lakh of the 17.06 lakh samples tested positive with a positivity rate of 14.6% and 304 persons died.
Incidentally, in April 2021 and January 2022, the health department had collected almost same numbers of samples, which makes its easier to compare the positivity rates. While 17,56,101 samples were tested in April, 17,06,003 were checked in January 2022. The tests also showed similar kind of results. In April 2021, 2,64,852 samples tested positive, while in January 2022, as many as 2,50,190 persons were found positive. The positivity rate in April 2021 was 15%, while in January 2022, it was 14.6%, which is also more or less similar.
The difference was observed in mortality due to Omicron and Delta. In April 2021, the mortality was more than five times than deaths reported in January 2022. While 304 casualties were reported in January, 1,421 people lost their lives in April last year.
