Delhi Weekend Curfew May End Soon. CM Kejriwal Proposes To Lift Restrictions As Daily COVID Cases Dip

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday send a recommendation to LG Anil Baijal to end the weekend curfew imposed in the city in view of the surge in coronavirus cases.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday send a recommendation to LG Anil Baijal to end the weekend curfew imposed in the city in view of the surge in coronavirus cases. Kejriwal’s proposal to lift the weekend restrictions in the city comes as Delhi witnessed drop in novel coronavirus cases in the past few days.

In the proposal, CM Arvind Kejriwal also had asked to remove the odd-even system in the markets and allow private offices to operate at 50 per cent capacity. Earlier, a weekend curfew was imposed from 10 pm of Friday till 5 am of Monday in the city by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) through an order issued on January 1 amid a spike in COVID cases. However, since Delhi saw a dip in daily COVID positivity cases, the government has decided to lift the restrictions.

All markets were ordered to remain shut down during the weekend curfew barring those dealing in essential goods and services like groceries, vegetables and fruits, medicines, milk among others. The new proposal by Kejriwal to lift the weekend curfew is likely to bring relief to many business establishments in the city.

A day before, Delhi Gym Association representatives and owners of gyms across the city staged a protest outside CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, demanding they be allowed to reopen their fitness centres which have been shut for over 20 days due to the spike in COVID cases. Gyms were closed in the city during the yellow alert which was sounded by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) when the positivity rate of COVID-19 cases had crossed 0.5% in December last year.

Delhi on Thursday reported 12,306 fresh COVID-19 cases and 43 more fatalities due to the viral disease, while the positivity rate dipped to 21.48 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. This is the highest number of deaths reported in a day since June 10, 2021, when 44 fatalities were recorded.