Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at Tuesday’s press briefing

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday attributed Delhi’s high patient load, in part, to people returning to the country after international travel and cases reported from the Nizamuddin Markaz.

“Over the past few days, Delhi has seen a sudden spike in the number of cases, and as a Chief Minister, it is worrisome for me. Delhi, being the national capital, has had an additional burden of cases from people who came from abroad. Many other places, such as Mumbai and Kolkata, have also seen many people come in but the number is highest in Delhi. The cases from the Markaz are an additional burden as well. This is the reason cases are high. But we can work together and rectify this,” said Kejriwal.

As of Tuesday, Delhi has 1,561 cases. Of these, 1,080 were those who had either attended the Markaz gathering or had come in contact with someone who did.

The Delhi government has already declared 47 areas in the city as containment zones. It added eight more zones Tuesday — seven in the West district and one in Northeast district. While some of these are spread over a larger area, most include a street or a cluster of houses.

According to Kejriwal, any area that sees more than three cases will be sealed and declared a containment zone: “In containment areas, the streets are sanitised and Operation SHIELD — which includes sealing an area, sanitising it and carrying out large-scale screening of residents — is started. So far, 60 machines are being used to sanitise Delhi. Of these, 10 have come from Japan. I will visit one containment zone tomorrow, to see if people are getting essential services. We also have a team of 14,000 foot soldiers — our corona warriors — who will ensure surveillance and isolation in these areas. I know a lot of you are facing hardship but if we stand together, we can defeat this.”

Kejriwal also appealed to people not to spread communal hate in the wake of the crisis. On Tuesday, Police had arrested two shop owners for allegedly abusing two women buying groceries on the basis of their religion.

“Over the past few weeks, we have seen the fallout when people defy the laws of nature. Spreading hate is against nature and people who do this violate the rules of nature, Ishwar and Allah. I am saddened that people are still trying to spread communal hate. Social media is full of such posts and videos that intend to ignite communal hatred between Hindus and Muslims. This is against nature. The nation will progress only if we work together. Those spreading communal hate are traitors of the nation and work against God,” said Kejriwal.

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