Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said that it was still early to call the recent rise in coronavirus cases in the city, a second wave of the pandemic, News18 reported. He, however, stressed on the importance of staying cautious and following Covid-related protocols.

“In Delhi, the positivity [rate] is hovering around 1% while in Maharashtra, the positivity rate is 15%...If you look at the states which have been hit by a new wave, the positivity rate is 5%,” Jain told News18, in an interview. “It will be premature to say that this is a new Covid wave, however, it is important to remain cautious and keep wearing masks.”

The national Capital, like several other cities in the country, has witnessed a steady rise in the number of cases recently. On Sunday, Delhi reported 823 cases, slightly higher than Saturday’s count of 813 cases. The city had logged 716 and 607 cases on Friday and Thursday, respectively.

The health minister, however, refused to read much into the rise in cases, suggesting that it was a trend across the country and that testing numbers in Delhi were higher, as compared to other states.

“There are nearly 40,000 cases that have been reported across the country,” Jain told News18. “When the country was reporting 10,000 odd cases, Delhi was reporting 200 to 300 cases. The average of number of tests that are being done in Delhi is five times the national average. Had the average number of tests in Delhi been the same, we would still have reported 200 to 300 cases.”

The Delhi government, meanwhile, has decided to extend the vaccination hours in government hospitals in the city till 9 pm, starting from Monday. Jain said that the step was taken after people faced difficulties in getting themselves registered for the inoculation process, News18 reported. He said the move will give a “huge boost” to the vaccination process.

Jain added that despite the recent rise in cases, there was no need to worry about availability of beds in hospitals. He said there were around 6,000 beds designated for coronavirus patients, of which 90% were available. “At one time, we had made arrangements for 18,500 beds...If there is need, the number of beds will be increased,” he told News18.

On being asked if the government would make negative test reports mandatory for people coming to the city, Jain said the decision on that will be taken in a meeting to be held soon.