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Weekend curfew imposed across Delhi NCR after COVID surge

By: Pallab Ghosh
Radiance News Service

Weekend curfew is back in Delhi NCR after a gap of a few months. On Tuesday, the decision to re-impose the weekend curfew was taken at an emergency meeting by Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.   has been imposed across Delhi NCR after a fresh surge in COVID cases was witnessed. The 


Over 5,500 fresh COVID cases have been reported in Delhi on Tuesday. It may not be out of context to recall Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who a few days ago during a Press Conference had called the omicron variant as mild and less dangerous. However, Kejriwal himself has gone into home isolation after being diagnosed COVID positive.

Some major decisions were taken during the meeting. Speaking to the Press, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the situation is serious but there is no need to panic. He requested all to follow the COVID protocols like using a facemask and maintaining the social distancing.

Some major decisions at a glance:

  • All trains, busses, and metro trains will run with full capacity now onwards as it will ease the traffic that has been piling up due to the present 50 per cent of passengers.
  • Nobody shall be allowed to enter metro stations without masks.
  • All government officials except for those engaged in essential services will work from home. 50% workforce of private offices will work from home.   
However, the decision to impose a weekend curfew has evoked mixed responses as some traders find the decision to impose a weekend curfew will not only have an impact on the business but will also escalate the situation as people will again throng the market places when the curfew is released. "This will not serve the purpose rather things will escalate as now people will wait for Monday to buy things. So on Monday, you will find the same old crowd", said Ramanjit Pal Singh, a shopkeeper in Kalkaji, New Delhi. Few shopkeepers said instead of closing down totally on weekends, it would have been better had Delhi Government restricted it to hours. "The problem is Delhi Government did not care to talk to us before taking such a big decision", said Surinder, a shopkeeper in Govindpuri.        

Well, there can be many views as it is not possible for Government to satisfy all. There are many who feel this should have been done long back. However, Delhi state health minister Satyendra Jain requested all not to confuse the weekend curfew with the lockdown. Jain assured the residents of Delhi there will no curfew.

The decision to impose a weekend curfew across Delhi NCR comes after a sharp rise was noticed in the COVID positive cases. On Monday, 4,099 new cases and one death were reported in 24 hours. On Tuesday,  over 5,481 were reported, the highest in more than seven months. Three deaths were reported. The positivity rate in Delhi has risen to 8.3 per cent from 6.46 per cent.

Manish Sisodia informed that the weekend curfew will be imposed from Friday 10 pm till Monday 5 am. This will be in addition to the already imposed Yellow Alert Alert announced on December 29, 2021. Night curfew from 10 pm till 5 pm is already in place. Cinemas, gyms are shut and shops have been allowed on an odd-even basis. 

However, more stringent restrictions will be imposed if things do not come under control.