Weekend curfew only, no lockdown being imposed in Delhi: Satyendar Jain

Nearly 5,500 fresh cases of Covid were reported in the national capital on Tuesday with a positivity rate of about 8.5 per cent, even as Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said there is a weekend curfew but "no lockdown" being imposed in the city.

Interacting with reporters, he claimed that the coronavirus situation was "under control" and asked people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviours to help contain the spread of the infection.

Asked about the Omicron situation he said, experts have been saying that the spike in Covid cases in Delhi should be considered largely due to the latest variant and added that random samples were earlier taken but now only samples from hospitals were being taken.

On Monday, Delhi had reported 4,099 cases with a positivity rate of 6.46 per cent, and one death was recorded due to Covid, Jain said.

Cases have risen and nearly 5,500 fresh cases with a positivity rate of 8.5 per cent have been reported, he told reporters.

Asked about the new restrictions, Jain said a weekend curfew (on Saturday and Sunday) was being imposed in view of rising Covid cases, and added "there is no lockdown being imposed in Delhi, and construction activities will also continue as it was before".

Media should not unnecessarily create panic about lockdown, the "situation is under control and people need to follow Covid-appropriate behaviours".

Weekend curfew has been imposed as not much activity happens in that two-day period, and there is no need to panic, the minister said.

Also, Covid-induced restrictions are being imposed with due sensitivity about the situation of labourers, Jain said in response to a question.

Delhi reported 5,481 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the highest number of such cases since May 16, with a positivity rate of 8.37 per cent, and three more fatalities due to the viral disease, according to data shared by the city health department.

The national capital had recorded 6,456 fresh COVID-19 cases and 262 fatalities on May 16, while the case positivity rate stood at 10.4 per cent.

Amid this surge, Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Tuesday decided to reimpose some more restrictions in the wake of a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, and weekend curfew will return in the national capital.

Talking about the DDMA decisions, Jain during weekdays, government employees, barring those engaged in essential services, like water, electricity and health departments will be asked to work from home, while private offices will function with 50 per cent capacity.

However, buses and metros will return to running to their full seating capacity throughout the week as the government feared that bus stops and metro stations could become super spreaders after the seating capacity had been halved and long queues were seen at such places, as per the revised norms.

Asked about the rising positivity rate, and if 'amber alert' restrictions will be imposed in case positivity rate continues to surge, Jain said only positivity rate is not the criteria, the number of beds occupied in hospitals, severity of cases are also factored in.

For seven consecutive days, the number of beds occupied should be more than 500 for the next level but as of now, the number of patients admitted in hospital (as per the Monday's bulletin), is 420, he said earlier in the day.

This figure has increased to 531, according to the latest bulletin.