Don't impose Covid curbs based on positivity rate alone: Traders urge DDMA

The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) on Tuesday appealed to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) not to impose coronavirus restrictions merely on the basis of positivity rate.

The traders' body in a letter to the DDMA also requested it to make it mandatory to wear masks in public if the situation demands.

The request from the traders' body comes a day before a crucial meeting of the DDMA where it is likely to discuss the mandatory use of face masks and hybrid mode of offline and online teaching for schoolchildren, in view of rising number of infections in past many days.

The DDMA meeting chaired by Lt Governor Anil Baijal will also review the COVID-19 situation in the national capital.

In a letter written to the DDMA, the CTI said that coronavirus is completely under control in Delhi at present and there is no need to impose more strictness in right now.

CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal said the news of increasing coronavirus cases in the capital has created an atmosphere of fear among the traders.

"Now the marriages have also started and somehow the business is getting back on track. If there is any restriction, the business will suffer. Decision (regarding restrictions) should not be taken only on the basis of case escalation and positivity rate but the rate of hospitalisation and bed occupancy and effectiveness of the variant should also be considered," Goyal said.

On Monday, 501 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the national capital with a positivity rate of 7.72 per cent and zero deaths.

Goyal said many medical experts opine that though the cases are increasing, they are not dangerous as the hospitalisation rate is low.

Genome sequencing done at LNJP Hospital showed that the XE variant was not found in Delhi. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also said the coronavirus situation is being monitored and no one needs to panic, he said.

"If necessary, the DDMA should make it mandatory to wear a mask but the penalty should not be Rs 2,000 ," Goyal said.

Earlier this month, the DDMA had withdrawn Rs 500 fine for not wearing a mask at public place.

The CTI said that Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) restrictions formulated earlier by the DDMA were chalked out in view of the dangerous condition of the Delta variant, but Omicron isn't that dangerous.

Goyal said that according to the health bulletin of the Delhi government, there are 9,735 Covid beds in the hospitals of which only 81 are occupied.

"It is clear that the cases of coronavirus have increased, but they are not fatal or dangerous. The CTI urges that there should be no strictness on the markets and business activities right now. The DDMA should take a decision only after considering all these aspects," Goyal said.