The order for night curfew will continue till April 30 as COVID-19 cases spike in Delhi. (Representative image)

Amid the rising COVID-19 cases, the Delhi government has imposed a night curfew in the national capital from 10 pm to 5 am on April 6. The order for night curfew will continue till April 30.

A day before the order was issued, the city had recorded 3,548 new cases of COVID-19, while 15 more people succumbed to the infection taking the death toll to 11,096, according to the Delhi health department.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on April 2, said that Delhi was undergoing the fourth wave of COVID-19, but a lockdown was not being considered yet.

As the national capital is undergoing the night curfew from April 5, here are the activities and individuals who are exempted from the restrictions:

> Police, home guards and individuals in civil defence, fire and emergency services are exempted from the restrictions on the production of valid identity cards.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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> Officers/officials of Government of India, its autonomous/subordinate offices and Public Corporations and officers/officials of GNCT of Delhi/autonomous bodies/corporations involved in emergency services such as Health and Family Welfare and all related medical establishments are exempted from the restrictions on the production of valid identity card.

> Officers/officials related to the functioning of offices of Diplomats of various countries as well as persons holding any constitutional post are exempted on the production of valid identity cards.

> Inter-state and intra-state movement / transportation of essential / non-essential goods are allowed.

> Movement of persons related to commercial and private establishments providing following essential services/commodities are allowed with the possession of e-pass, which can be obtained by applying on the website of Delhi government:

# Shops, dealing with foods, groceries, fruits and vegetables, dairy and milk booths, meat and fish, animal fodder, pharmaceuticals, medicines and medical equipment

# Banks, Insurance offices and ATMs

# Print and Electronic Media

# Telecommunications, Internet services, broadcasting and cable services, IT and IT-enabled services

# Delivery of all essential goods including foods, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment through e-commerce

# Petrol pumps, LPG, CNG, petroleum and gas retail and storage

# Power generation, transmission and distribution units and services

# Cold storage and warehousing services

# Private security services

# Manufacturing units of essential commodities

# Production units or services, which require a continuous process

> Persons who are going for COVID-19 vaccination are allowed with the possession of an e-pass.

> Public transport including metro, public buses, auto-rickshaws and taxis are allowed to function for the transportation of only the above-mentioned categories of people during night curfew.

If any person is found violating the night curfew, the defaulting person(s) will be proceeded against as per the provisions of section 51 to 60 of Disaster Management Act, 2005, Section 188 of IPC and other applicable laws, said the Delhi government in its order.

Follow our full coverage on COVID-19 here.

Night curfew in Delhi from today: What is allowed, what is banned

Persons who are going for COVID-19 vaccination are allowed with the possession of an e-pass.

The order for night curfew will continue till April 30 as COVID-19 cases spike in Delhi. (Representative image)

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