197 cases of 'black fungus' reported in Delhi: Satyendar Jain

New Delhi: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday said there are 197 cases of black fungus in government and private hospitals till date in the national capital.

Addressing a press conference, he said minimal steroids should be used for the treatment of Covid and only on the advice of doctors it should be administered. It is not right to use it without consulting a professional.

He said that black fungus is happening because to two reasons, first is the increase in blood sugar levels and the second is the decrease in immunity due to high usage of steroids.

"If the doctor has advised to take steroids then only consume them, otherwise do not take it because steroids destroys the immunity of the body," he said.

The Delhi Health Minister said black fungus is especially found in soil and moreover it is found in rotten things. According to Satyendra Jan, the black fungus has no effect on a healthy person, it only affects people whose immunity is reduced due to steroids.

Satyendra Jain advised all those who have recently taken steroids. He said the people who have had steroids should not leave the house for atleast a week right after the usage is discontinued, besides it is very important to control blood sugar levels.

Meanwhile talking about the COVID-19 cases in the national capital, he said the COVID-19 positivity rate in the national capital currently stands at 5.5 per cent and 3,231 new cases were reported today.

"He said the single-day spike of COVID-19 cases was 28,000 and now it has dropped to 3,000 and the positivity rate, which gone up to 36 per cent has come down to 5.5 per cent today," he said.

He further appealed to people to not take this lightly and asked everyone to follow appropriate Covid behaviour.

While speaking about the vaccine he said the administration does not have vaccines for the 18-44 age group and many vaccination centers will remain closed today.

"We don't have Covishield vaccines for the 18-44 age group and the available stock of COVAXIN vaccine for the same age group will be consumed soon. Many vaccination centers will be closing today," added Satyendar Jain.