Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal said that there is no plan for lockdown as of now in the national capital.
Briefing reporters today, Mr. Kejriwal said lockdown will not be imposed in the city if people continue to wear masks and follow covid appropriate behaviour.
He said, his government’s attempt is to impose minimum restrictions so that livelihoods are not affected. Mr Kejriwal said the increasing cases of COVID-19 is a matter of concern but there is no need to panic.
Today’s message was a repeat of what Mr Kejriwal said last week, when he said Covid cases were rising rapidly in the city but there was no need to panic.
The Chief Minister also urged people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Mr Kejriwal also announced that he had recovered after a Covid infection picked up while campaigning for next month’s Uttarakhand election. “I am back at your service after recovering from Corona,” he said, adding that he had self-isolated at home after having a two-day fever.
Mr Kejriwal’s entreaties come as Delhi is expected to report around 22,000 Covid cases today.
The city reported 20,181 yesterday – an increase of 16 per cent. Daily new cases are also creeping closer to the single-day record of 26,169 set on April 23, during the peak of the second wave.
The new wave of infections is partly fuelled by the Omicron variant, which is more infectious than the Delta strain. It leads to milder symptoms, but doctors have warned against underestimating it.
Delhi has reported 513 Omicron Covid cases so far (second only to Maharashtra).
Experts say the milder symptoms produced can be offset by the sheer number of cases that will be reported, which could put excessive pressure on healthcare infrastructure.