Arvind Kejriwal extends lockdown in Delhi by 7 days to curb COVID-19 spread

The lockdown in Delhi will remain in place till 5 AM on May 17.

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday (May 9, 2021) extended the lockdown in Delhi by seven more days to curb the COVID-19 spread. The lockdown in Delhi will now remain in place till 5 AM on May 17.

Arvind Kejriwal also informed that the Delhi Metro services will be halted till May 17. He said that in the last 2-3 days, Delhi's positivity rate has come down to 23% from 35%.

"We used the lockdown period to boost our medical infrastructure and to increase oxygen beds at various locations," Kejriwal said.

He added that the medical oxygen situation has improved in the national capital and that the Delhi government is not getting panic or SOS calls from hospitals now.

Kejriwal also talked about the COVID-19 vaccination drive in Delhi and said, "We've made excellent arrangements in our schools. Youngsters are participating in large numbers."

The Delhi CM had first imposed a complete lockdown in the national capital on April 19 for one week which was later extended due to the deteriorating situation.

"Delhi's health system has reached a limit," he had said.

Delhi on Saturday reported 17,364 new COVID-19 cases, the fifth day in a row when it reported a single-day spike of below 20,000 cases. However, Delhi's total caseload has now climbed to 13,10,231, of which, 87,907 are active cases.

The national capital also witnessed 332 new coronavirus-related deaths which took the overall death toll to 19,071. Delhi had recorded its highest single-day death toll of 448 on May 4.

(With inputs from agencies)