New Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that there is no plan at the moment to implement the lockdown and if people follow the rule of wearing masks, then the lockdown will not be imposed. He said that 22 thousand cases of COVID-19 are expected to be registered in Delhi in 24 hours on Sunday. He appealed to the people to wear masks.
Kejriwal said in a digital press conference, “The increase in COVID-19 cases is a matter of concern, but there is no need to panic. Very few people are getting hospitalized. Wearing a mask is very important. If you continue to wear the mask, there will be no lockdown. There is no plan to implement the lockdown at the moment.”
The Chief Minister said that he is closely monitoring the situation of COVID along with Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and the Centre. “Our effort is to impose minimum restrictions so that livelihoods are not affected,” Kejriwal said. Comparing the current third wave with the second wave of COVID in April-May last year, the Chief Minister said that on May 7, 2021, 341 patients had died and 20,000 cases of infection were registered, but on Saturday, Delhi Seven people died, while 20 thousand cases of infection were reported. However, there should not be a single death, he said.
“Last year on May 7 there were around 20,000 patients in Covid beds, whereas yesterday, despite the same number of cases, there were only 1,500 patients on hospital beds,” Kejriwal said. The Chief Minister said, “I want to tell you by showing these figures that very few people need to go to the hospital in this infection and there is no need to panic. We just have to behave responsibly.” The Chief Minister said a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) would be convened on Monday to review the situation and discuss the steps to be taken.
“We have overcome the dreaded second wave that came last year and we will overcome this too,” Kejriwal said. He also urged people to get vaccinated and keep themselves safe from the virus. The national capital has been witnessing a spurt in the daily cases of Covid in the last few days. This is mainly due to the oomicron nature of the infection. According to the data released by the Health Department of Delhi, 20,181 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the capital on Saturday and seven patients died. The infection rate stood at 19.60 percent. The DDMA has imposed a weekend curfew in the city to contain the spread of the virus.