Delhi curbs extended by 1 week

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, May 23

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today extended the Delhi lockdown till 5 am on May 31, saying a gradual unlock process could start if the number of cases went down.

“I consulted several people and the general opinion was in favour of lockdown extension for one more week. The Delhi Government has decided that the lockdown will be extended till 5 am on May 31,” he said in an online address as Delhi’s daily caseload came down to 1,600 from a peak of 28,000 in late April.

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The positivity rate has declined to 2.5 per cent over the past 24 hours from 36 per cent at the peak of the second wave.

The CM said vaccinating everybody in Delhi was his government’s priority and the state was willing to procure vaccine at “any cost, if someone was supplying”.

Inoculation of people in the age group of 18 to 44 years was halted on Sunday due to unavailability of vaccine doses.“If the current decline in cases continues over the next week and people adhere to Covid-appropriate behaviour, as they have done so far, we will start the unlocking process from May 31. It is not advisable to unlock in one go. The process will be gradual and only limited activities will be allowed initially,” he said. “It is being said that the third wave of Covid-19 will arrive, but if everyone gets vaccinated, it may not arrive,” the CM said.

Out of Delhi’s 11 districts, only two, as of Sunday, have a case positivity rate of over 10%.