New Delhi: In the wake of rising coronavirus cases, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will hold a key meet with Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Monday at 11 am. Since the capital city is witnessing a massive rise in COVID-19 cases, the Kejriwal-led Delhi government is reportedly planning to extend the weekend lockdown to weekdays, said reports. Besides, the chief minister may announce additional restrictions after the meeting.
“Impose 10-day lockdown”
Earlier, the Confederation Of All India Traders (CAIT), domestic traders’ body had asked the Delhi government to impose a complete lockdown for at least 10 days to bring the situation under control. “The time has come to take a strong step in order to curb the rapid outbreak and a complete lockdown for at least 10 days in order to break the chain seems the right thing to do,” CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said.
Every 3rd person undergoing test infected
The meeting comes a day after Dehi recorded the biggest jump in its daily COVID-19 tally with 25,462 fresh cases, while the positivity rate shot up to 29.74 per cent — which means almost every third sample being tested in the city is turning out to be positive.
“OXYGEN HAS BECOME AN EMERGENCY IN DELHI”
As the situation turned grim, Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal urging them to ramp up bed capacity in central government-run hospitals and to ensure “uninterrupted” supply of medical oxygen.
“The COVID situation has become very serious in Delhi. There is a huge shortage of beds and oxygen. I request that at least 7,000 out of 10,000 beds in central government hospitals in Delhi be reserved for COVID patients and oxygen be immediately provided in Delhi,” his letter read.
Kejriwal further said that Delhi is facing an “acute shortage” of oxygen for COVID-19 patients and alleged the quota of the city has been “diverted” to other states.
Weekend Curfew in Delhi
Last week, CM Kejriwal, in a virtual video conference, had announced a weekend curfew in the city to break the chain of transmission of coronavirus. “It is unanimously decided to impose weekend curfew because people normally visit outside their homes for entertainment or other activities which can be curtailed. The restriction may not create much problem to the people. The purpose is to break the chain of Covid infection on weekends”, the AAP leader had said.