The Delhi government on Tuesday imposed a night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am till 30 April, in view of rising coronavirus cases. The rules are applicable for the movement of people and goods and services that do not fall under essential services.
The Delhi government’s move came even as 5,100 new Covid-19 cases and 17 related deaths were reported in the last 24 hours in the national capital, as per the latest figures released by the health department of Delhi on Tuesday. This was the highest single-day spike of coronavirus infections in the national capital this year.
The Delhi government also issued an order on Monday, asking all government hospitals to run one-third of the sites located in them (2 of 6 in each hospital) 24 hours for those who don’t have time to be inoculated in the day.
Delhi became the sixth state after Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, Gujarat and Punjab to impose a night curfew. The state government, though, did clarify that it wasn’t considering a full lockdown so far.
The Centre has said that Covid-19 is spreading at a fast pace with an increase in the intensity of the pandemic and the next four weeks are going to be very critical. The Centre stressed on the importance of people’s participation to control the second wave of the contagion.
Meanwhile, on the day it announced a night curfew, Delhi recorded 5,100 fresh Covid cases along with 17 deaths. This came as the national capital saw a record number of tests as 1,03,453 individuals were tested in the city. The number of containment zones in the capital city was also pegged at over 3,500. The city’s positivity rate stands at 4.93 per cent, while the cumulative positivity rate is at 4.54 per cent. There are 17,332 active Covid-19 cases in Delhi. The infection tally in the national capital has gone up to 6,85,062 and a total of 11,113 fatalities due to the disease have been recorded so far.
As many 6,56,617 people have recovered from Covid-19 so far with 2,340 recoveries recorded in the last 24-hours. Over one lakh Covid-19 tests, including around 70,000 RT-PCR, were conducted in the last 24 hours in the city.
The Delhi government’s order stated: “People who want to get Covid-19 vaccination will be exempted, but will have to get an e-pass. Shopkeepers selling essential goods like groceries, fruits, vegetables, milk, and medicine will be allowed to move after getting an e-pass. Print and electronic media will also be allowed to move only through e-pass.”
Commuters, who fall in the essential category, will be allowed to travel in Delhi Metro during the night curfew. “All metro users who do not fall in the essential category may complete the journey and reach their destination by 10 pm as you are not allowed to travel after 10 pm to 5 am in the night in metro, as per govt order till April 30,” the DMRC tweeted.
(WITH INPUTS FROM AGENCIES)
