 has decided to implement a graded action plan to tackle any surge in Covid-19 infections in the coming days.){kind=link}
In a bid to control the possible third wave of coronavirus, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has decided to implement a graded action plan to tackle any surge in Covid-19 infections in the coming days.
According to the action plan, separate guidelines and alerts for four levels of severity are represented as colours to ease the process of lock and unlock in the city. The Delhi government has issued a formal order to implement the plan.
The national capital is the first city to enforce such a plan. Based on the intensity of positivity rate, fresh cases, and requirement of oxygen beds, the government will be alerted using four different colour codes yellow, amber, orange and red. The relaxations and restrictions will be put in place as stipulated by Graded Response Action Plan as ordered by the DDMA.
Yellow Alert
The yellow alert marks level 1 of severity which will be enforced if the national capital reports a positivity rate of over 0.5 percent for two consecutive days or 1500 new Covid-19 cases in a week or has occupied 500 oxygen beds in a week. The shops will remain open between 10 am and 8 pm on an odd-even basis in response to the alert. Metros and buses will work on 50 percent capacity and a night curfew will be imposed between 10 pm and 5 am.
Amber Alert
If the city records a positivity rate of 1 percent for two days in a row or registers 3,500 new Covid-19 cases or if 700 oxygen beds are occupied over a week, then the amber alert will be imposed. The shops will be shut from 10 am to 6 pm on an odd and even basis, and restaurants, bars will remain closed. The government will enforce the weekend curfew and also reduce the metro capacity to 33 percent ad bus capacity to 50 percent.
Orange Alert
Once the national capital records fresh Covid-19 cases above 9,000 or a positivity rate of over 2 percent for two consecutive days and the requirement of oxygen beds cross 1,000, the orange alert is marked. In that situation, everything will remain closed except standalone shops. The metro services will be completely shut, however, bus services will operate at 50 percent capacity for essential workers. The night curfew will continue and construction work is only allowed if the labourers live near the site.
Red Alert
The red alert will be imposed once the Covid-19 cases cross 16,000 in the city or records a positivity rate of 5 percent within two days or there’s a requirement of 3,000 oxygen beds. Under this severity, all the curbs imposed at the time of orange alert will remain in force and Delhi will be placed under complete curfew.
Meanwhile, under every alert, schools, colleges and other educational institutions will remain closed. The cinema halls, banquet halls, theatres, auditoriums, barbershops, spas, salons, gymnasiums and yoga centres, and entertainment parks will also be shut. Gatherings at religious places or any sort will not be allowed.