The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) held a meeting which was chaired by Lieutenant General Anil Baijal and was attended by the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The meeting was held to discuss the restrictions that have to be imposed in order to contain the spread of the virus. The leaders came to a decision of not imposing a lockdown in Delhi. However, it was suggested that the current restrictions should be more strictly enforced and the restrictions should also encompass the NCR regions. It was discussed that dine-in facilities at restaurants must be closed and public transport capacity should also be reduced. These steps would help curbing the quick spread. Delhi is currently reporting an approximate of 20,000 cases in the day.
The city has been under a ‘yellow alert’ under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) since December 28. The leaders met to discuss whether a ‘red alert’ should be imposed on it. It is the highest level of restrictions under which a total lockdown is followed. It is sounded when the positivity rate in a city goes beyond 5% and remains so for two or more consecutive days.
The CM has earlier stated that the threat of the Omicron variant is acute but his government does not want to impose a full lockdown and keep the restrictions to as little as possible so that people can earn a livelihood. He advised people to follow the official protocol and COVID appropriate behaviour in order to contain the spread without hampering lives.
The present restrictions include a night curfew and a weekend curfew. Non-essential shops are allowed to open on an odd-even basis and restaurants and dining are allowed to function at only 50%capacity. The public transport capacity is also turned down to 50% but after seeing the long lines of people outside the metro stations and bus stands, these have been allowed to run at full capacity.
The number of reported cases have been at a staggering 22,000 with a 23% positivity rate. However, the number of occupied hospital beds are 1500 and the death rates have been very low.
