No lockdown but new restrictions to be imposed after COVID spike in Delhi: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that the state government is not planning a lockdown in the national capital. However, he indicated that the government is likely to put some more restrictions in the coming days.

“Lockdown is not an option. However, we will be putting some restrictions in place to contain the spread of the virus. The Delhi government will issue some new restrictions in the coming few days,” Kejriwal said after a review meeting with senior doctors at LNJP Hospital on Saturday.

The chief minister further stated there has been a sharp increase in new Covid-19 cases across the nation, including Delhi. “We need to simultaneously spearhead an aggressive vaccination campaign and also put in place measures that can effectively contain the spread of the virus along with making hospital management equally effective,” Kejriwal added.

He further said that the national capital is facing the fourth wave of Coronavirus. The last wave was in November after which the cases had gone down in Delhi and the health agencies began to go lax. “It is imperative that they regain their momentum and begin to function in the same efficient manner that they did, which helped contain the spread of the virus,” Kejriwal said.

Ankit Gupta, a senior doctor at LNJP who is also in-charge of administration, told IANS that out of 2000 beds in the hospital, 1500 have been reserved for Covid-19 infected patients while 500 are non-Covid beds. “We have not suspended non-Covid services here so far but if the situation demands, a further decision may be taken in the coming days,” he added