‘No lockdown if Covid protocols followed’

The national capital will not go under a complete lockdown if people adhere to Covid protocols strictly, said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday. He stated that in Delhi, on Saturday, there were around 20,000 cases and on Sunday, by evening, the cases would be around 22,000.

In the current “wave”, in spite of the sharp spike in cases, Delhi has reported low deaths and hospitalisation. While discussing the Covid situation in Delhi and referring to the low death and hospitalisation rates, CM Kejriwal said, “In the previous wave, on 7 May, there were 20,000 cases and 341 deaths; while yesterday, it was 20,000 cases, but 7 deaths. On 7 May, when 20,000 cases were reported, almost 20,000 beds were occupied in Delhi, but yesterday when 20,000 cases were reported, around 1,500 beds were occupied.”

However, he urged Delhiites to continue following Covid protocols, including wearing masks and following social distancing norms. The Chief Minister will hold a meeting with the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and health experts to assess the Covid situation in the national capital and decide on the next steps to tackle the pandemic.

He added, “We will try to put fewer restrictions so that common people do not face problems. The LG and I are keeping an eye on the Covid situation. We, along with health experts, will conduct a meeting with DDMA, tomorrow, to review the solutions.”

Delhi is also receiving support from the Central government. During the conference, he said, “We are in touch with the Central government; the Central government is also supporting us to tackle the pandemic.” He also urged people to get vaccinated as vaccination has proved to lower the severity of the virus.

Delhi reported 22,751 new Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours, the highest since 1 May last year, said the state health department on Sunday.