'Will bring SOP for schools if need be,' says Delhi CM as Covid cases rise

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday said his government is keeping an eye on the COVID-19 situation in the city, and will bring in a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for schools if need arises.

He said hospitalisation related to coronavirus has not increased and "there is no need to panic".

The chief minister's comments came a day after Delhi reported 299 new COVID-19 cases, a jump of 118 per cent in two days. The positivity rate stood at 2.49 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.

"We are keeping an eye on the situation," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event. "If need be, we will bring in a SOP for Delhi schools for Covid."

The Covid positivity rate in Delhi has jumped from 0.5 per cent to 2.70 per cent in a week, even as doctors on Tuesday said it was "not a panic situation" as the daily cases count was still low. They doctors have, however, cautioned against dropping the guard.