Lockdown extended till May 31, reopening will be gradual: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Delhi will stay under lockdown for another week. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that if the number of Covid-19 cases and positivity rate continued to dip at the current pace, the unlock process would start gradually from May 31.
All existing restrictions, including the suspension of Delhi Metro services and bar on weddings in public places, will stay till 5 am on May 31.
“The battle is not over yet. Even now, more than 1,000 cases are emerging daily. The general opinion is that the lockdown should be extended for another week. If we are to lift the lockdown right now, then whatever we have gained after the struggle, hard work and sacrifice of one month might be lost,” Kejriwal said on Sunday. “Therefore, Delhi government has decided that the lockdown will be extended by a week,” he said, adding that the decision was taken after asking a lot of people as it was a collective effort of the citizens of Delhi.
“It won't be wise to immediately unlock, so we will start unlocking certain processes from May 31. But right now, as per everyone’s response, the opinion of the people of Delhi, we are going to increase the lockdown by one week,” he said.
The capital has been under lockdown since April 19 -- when it recorded 23,686 fresh Covid-19 cases with a positivity rate of 26.12% -- with even more stringent restrictions imposed from May 10. While last Sunday saw 6,456 new cases and a positivity rate of 10.4%, this Sunday saw 1,649 new cases with a positivity rate of 2.42%.
“When the wave had emerged and the cases were rising rapidly, we did not know how long it would persist, nor did we know whether we would be able to gain the victory of this wave or anything else (sic) ,” Kejriwal said, adding that within a month, the government imposed a lockdown, and because of the discipline shown by Delhiites, the deadliest wave till date seemed to be waning.
“I will not say that we have won the battle. There is still a lot left to be won. But now it seems that we are gaining control over the situation,” he said. “The levels have come down from 28,000 to 1,600. So, the speed of the coronavirus has declined rapidly in Delhi,” he said.
Kejriwal said the shortage of medical oxygen had been a major challenge but everyone came together to resolve it. “Now, there is a problem regarding vaccines, we are facing a shortage,” he said, adding that he was hopeful that this problem would be resolved too.
“Right now, it is our top priority to figure out as to how to vaccinate the 2.5 crore people of Delhi. We have made all the arrangements in Delhi so that we can vaccinate all our people within three months. But there is a paucity of vaccines all over the country,” he said.
“It is being said that a third wave will emerge. We have to be completely prepared for the that. If all are vaccinated, then, probably, we can be protected from the third wave,” he said, adding that he was trying that maximum vaccines be administered by talking to everyone, including the central government and vaccine manufacturers.
“It does not matter at what cost they are giving the vaccines to us, we are willing to spend from the budget of Delhi government,” he said.
Kejriwal said all arrangements were being made to combat a possible third wave.