Night curfew in Delhi? Proposal sent to CM Arvind Kejriwal as COVID-19 spreads

NEW DELHI: In view of rising COVID-19 cases in the national capital, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government is considering a proposal to impose a night curfew, according to the sources.

A proposal to impose a night curfew in the national capital has been forwarded to the Chief Minister for his clearance in view of rising coronavirus cases, the official sources said.

A proposal for imposing a night curfew is under consideration. The details are being discussed, including the time period of the curfew which could be from 10 pm to 5 am," a senior government official said on Monday.

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

"As per the current situation, we are not considering imposing a lockdown. We are closely monitoring the situation and such a decision will only be taken after due public consultation," the Chief Minister had said in a press briefing.

As per the Delhi government health bulletin on Monday, a total of 3,548 fresh cases of COVID-19 infection and 15 deaths were reported within the last 24 hours. 

The national capital on Monday reported 3,548 new Covid-19 cases, taking its overall tally to 6,79,962, while its test positivity rate stood at 5.54 per cent, according to the health bulletin released by Delhi government.

This is the fourth consecutive day that Delhi reported more than 3,500 new cases. On Sunday, the national capital had reported 4,033 new cases, the highest single-day tally in 2021. 

The city had reported 3,567 new cases on April 3, and 3,594 cases on April 2. The number of active cases in Delhi rose to 14,589 on Monday, out of which 7,983 persons are in home isolation, according to the health bulletin.

With 15 more deaths getting reported on Monday, Delhi`s Covid death toll rose to 11,096. On a positive note, 2,936 persons recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 6,54,277.

A total of 64,003 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, of which 43,960 were RT-PCR tests and 20,043 were rapid antigen tests. Given the steady rise in the number of cases in the national capital, the health department of the Delhi government on Monday announced to increase the number of beds for Covid patients in all government-run hospitals.

As per the official data, a total of 2,910 specific Covid beds are available in government-run hospitals. The number of beds has been increased in 11 government-run hospitals, including Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, GTB Hospital, Burari Hospital and Ambedkar Hospital, among others.

On Saturday, the Delhi government had directed 33 private hospitals to increase the number of ICU beds for Covid infected patients.