No lockdown until everyone wear masks: Delhi CM

New Delhi, Jan 9 (FN Representative) Amid the continuous upsurge of Covid-19, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday cautioned that the city government will not have to impose the lockdown if everyone wears masks. “We don’t want to impose lockdown on the city. We will not have to until everyone wear masks,” he said during his digital address. “The lockdown will affect the livelihood badly,” Kejriwal added. The statement has come a day before the meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority scheduled for Monday. Sources suggest that the government could further intensify the restrictions put in place to stop the infection spread. The Minister also said Delhi is likely to report around 22,000 new Covid infections today. However, he also appealed to the people to not panic and strictly follow the Covid Appropriate Behaviour.

“Yesterday more than 20,000 cases, today around 22,000 cases will be logged in the evening’s health bulletin. The increasing cases are concerning but there is no need to be scared,” Kejriwal said. Kejriwal further said the analysis of the current Covid-19 situation compared to the second wave state that the hospitalization and deaths are less this time. “On May 7, 2021, we recorded over 20,000 cases and all the beds were occupied in Delhi. There were 341 deaths as well. However, yesterday we reported a similar number of infections but only 1,500 beds are occupied and around seven deaths were reported,” he added Earlier today, the Delhi CM had announced on Twitter that his isolation period is over and he is “back to the public service.” “I also got infected. I had a fever for about two days but after that I was fine. I stayed in home isolation for about 7-8 days but kept an eye on the situation in Delhi over the phone,” he said. On January 4, Kejriwal said that he tested positive for Covid-19 and had ‘mild’ symptoms. Subsequently, the CM home isolated himself and asked his close contacts to get a check-up.