Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain rules out possibility of lockdown as COVID-19 cases soar
Delhi registered over 1,500 new cases for a second straight day with 971 recoveries and 9 deaths in the last 24 hours.
FollowDelhi health minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday ruled out the possibility of a lockdown despite the increasing pace of daily spike in the cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the city.
“As of now, there’s no possibility of a lockdown. First, it was said that it's a 14-day cycle between infection and recovery. Experts said if all activities close for 21 days, it won't spread. Lockdown was extended but it didn't stop completely. So I don't think lockdown is a solution,” he told news agency ANI.
Delhi registered over 1,500 new cases for a second straight day with 971 recoveries and 9 deaths in the last 24 hours. Speaking on the fresh spike in active cases, Delhi Health Minister said, "There were fewer cases earlier, but it has increased now. So, we have increased the number of testing and conducting 85,000-90,000 tests every day, which is more than 5% of the national average. We are also doing contact tracing and isolation."
"Hospitals have a sufficient number of beds as of now. The occupancy is around 20% now, 80% of the beds are unoccupied. We are monitoring this, if occupancy increases, we will increase the number of beds," added Satyendra Jain.
As cases continue to rise, the Delhi Police cited the government directive and said public celebrations and gatherings, congregations during upcoming festivals such as Holi, Shab-e-Barat, Navaratri will not be allowed at public places, parks, markets, or religious places across the city. Any person found violating the directives shall be prosecuted in accordance with the law, they added.
For people not able to register themselves for vaccinations from the app, Delhi Health Minister announced that the government has decided to keep 3 pm-9 pm as a window when people can go for vaccination without registration. "People were facing difficulty in registration for vaccination, many people aren't tech-savvy. Even if they get registered, they get busy and don't reach centers. So, Government has decided to keep 3 pm-9 pm as a window when people can go for vaccination without registration," said Delhi Health Minister.
Recently, the central government had announced that People who are 45 and older can be vaccinated from April 1. At present only citizens who are above 60 and those over 45 with other illnesses are allowed to get the vaccination.
