Delhi to impose fresh Covid restrictions soon to prevent virus surge: CM Kejriwal
2 min read 10 Apr 2021, 01:39 PM ISTEarlier, a night curfew between 10 pm and 5 am was put in place till 30 AprilThe government has also ordered the suspension of physical academic activities and offline examinations for all classes till further orders
PremiumDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday ruled out the possibility of another lockdown in the national capital. However, he said that fresh restrictions would be announced soon in view of the surging Covid-19 cases.
"If we have enough doses and age bar is removed, we can vaccinate people within two to three months in Delhi. Currently, we have vaccine for seven to ten days. We need to remove age criteria and scale up vaccination. There will be no lockdown. New restrictions will be imposed soon," Kejriwal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The CM had earlier urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lift the age criterion for vaccination and making it available for all in the national capital.
In a letter to the PM, Kejriwal wrote that if the conditions for opening new vaccination centres are relaxed and vaccination is opened for all, then Delhi government will be able to vaccinate all citizens of Delhi within three months.
Restrictions in Delhi
The Kejriwal government on Friday ordered the suspension of physical academic activities and offline examinations for all classes till further orders.
"Due to rising cases of COVID-19, schools in Delhi will remain closed for all classes till further orders," Kejriwal tweeted.
The Directorate of Education (DoE) said in an order, "All schools are, hereby, informed that the conduct of all academic and examination activities through physical mode shall remain suspended with immediate effect till further orders."
The AAP dispensation had last week announced that students of any class will not be called to school in the new academic session.
However, class 10 and class 12 students who have to appear in board exams in May-June were going to school with the consent of their parents for preparations as well as practical exams. Also, classes 9 and 11 students were being called to school for exams.
Prior to this, a night curfew between 10 pm and 5 am was put in place till 30 April.
The government has also ordered random checking at the airport, restricting number of events in marriages and funeral.
Cases in Delhi
As many as 8,521 more people were found to have contracted coronavirus in Delhi on Friday, taking the total cases to 7,06,526, while the active cases stands at 26,63.
This is the second-biggest hike in new infections in the national capital since the outbreak of the disease. On November 11, Delhi had reported 8,593 cases, the highest till date for the city.
Owing to the sudden surge, the Delhi administration has asked 115 private hospitals which are registered for Covid-related treatment to reserve at least 50 per cent of their total ICU and wards bed exclusively for Covid patients.
Meanwhile, the 650-bed Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGGSH) has been converted into a dedicated Covid-19 facility. All non-Covid services have been suspended till further orders, officials said on Friday.
