National Capital Delhi is witnessing a massive surge in the COVID-19 cases with the positivity rate rising to 6.5 per cent in the last 24 hours. On December 28, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) imposed the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) after a rapid increase in the caseload.
Now, with the positivity rate surging beyond the 5 per cent mark, will the DDMA put in place the level 4 or Red alert under GRAP? A Red Alert is imposed when there is more than 5 per cent positivity rate for two consecutive days or more than 16000 new infection cases come in a week or if patients are admitted on 3000 oxygen beds.
What will be closed if GRAP Red Alert is imposed in Delhi?
There would be a total curfew on the movement of people - – night as well as the weekend. However, there will be certain exemptions based on the categories decided by the government.
Shops and establishments dealing with non-essential goods and services will be closed. Malls and weekly markets will also be shut down.
The government offices too will be closed, except those providing essential and emergency services. Such establishments will be allowed to remain open with 100 per cent staff attendance, according to GRAP. The same will be applicable to private offices.
The limitation on gatherings for weddings and funerals will be further brought down to 15, from the current 20.
Restaurants and bars will be closed, and delivery of only essential items will be allowed. Hotels and lodges will be allowed to remain open, but with condition that no banquets/conference will be organised. However, room service to in-house guests will be allowed.
While cinema halls, banquets, spas, yoga institutes are already closed under the current yellow alert, salons too and barbershops will also be asked to close.
What is Graded Response Action Plan and how are the levels decided?
The Graded Response Action Plan is a step in the direction and contains Yellow, Amber, Orange, and Red signify different levels in the COVID-19 situation.
The plan is a four-stage, colour-coded alert system in which action will be decided basis the circumstances. The four types of alerts in GRAP will be Level-1 (Yellow), Level-2 (Amber), Level-3 (Orange) and Level-4 (Red).
The alerts - Yellow, Amber, Orange and Red - have been arranged in terms of the severity of the pandemic, taking into consideration factors such as positivity rate, cumulative new positive cases, and average weekly occupancy rate of oxygen beds.
