Centre's representatives assured curbs will be imposed across NCR: Delhi CM

The Centre's representatives have assured the Delhi government that Covid-related curbs imposed in the capital will be replicated across the NCR, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, noting it is difficult to predict when the third wave of infections will peak.

After reviewing the Covid situation at the Lok Nayak Hospital, he told reporters that his government had to impose restrictions out of compulsion and reiterated that a complete lockdown will not be implemented.

"I understand... It is a delicate situation. If you implement restrictions, it affects the livelihood of people. And, if you don't, the lives of people are at risk," he said, adding the curbs will be lifted as soon as the cases come down.

He also said Delhi is likely to record around 20,000 Covid cases on Tuesday.

"Covid cases are rapidly rising throughout the country. Delhi too is witnessing a rise but we have noticed a trend that the speed of the spread of the virus has slowed down. I hope that this trend will continue for the near future and the Covid spread comes down," he said at a press conference.

"At a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, we told the representatives of the Centre that the restrictions should be implemented in the entire NCR and not just in Delhi. They have assured us that restrictions in Delhi will be replicated in the region," Kejriwal said.

A DDMA order issued on Tuesday said: "It has been observed that the number of COVID-19 cases (including cases of Omicron variant) has been rapidly increasing over the last few days and the positivity rate has crossed 23 per cent."

"Therefore, it has been felt necessary that some additional restrictions are required to be imposed in Delhi to contain the spread of COVID-19, including the highly contagious and transmissible Omicron variant," it said.

Kejriwal said it cannot be predicted when the third wave will peak.

The number of daily cases has been oscillating between 20,000 and 22,000 for three days with a positivity rate of 24 per cent to 25 per cent, but "it doesn't mean that cases won't increase", he said.

The SUTRA model by IIT scientists has predicted that the third wave in Delhi will peak around January 15 and the city can record around 70,000 cases daily during that time.

According to the health bulletin issued on Monday, 1,912 Covid patients are in hospitals. Of them, 65 are on ventilator support. The city currently has 65,803 active cases of which 44,028 are in home isolation.

The Delhi government estimates that the city may need 28,000 oxygenated beds and 18,000 ICU beds in the worst-case scenario of 1 lakh new cases daily.