COVID-19 cases: Arvind Kejriwal warns of a possible lockdown in Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday warned that the state government would be forced to impose a lockdown if hospitals start falling short of beds. Kejriwal’s comments come after Delhi recorded 10,774 fresh COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the highest single-day surge in the national capital till date. Asserting that the COVID-19 situation in Delhi is “very serious”, the chief minister said the government is closely monitoring the situation and is not in favour of complete lockdown.

The CM said his government does not want to impose lockdown in Delhi, but such a situation may arise if there is a rush to hospitals and beds are unavailable for serious patients. The previous highest single-day spike in Delhi — 8,593 cases — was reported on November 11 last year, while on November 19, the city had recorded 131 COVID-19 deaths, the highest single-day fatality count till date.

Karnataka lockdown:
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday said the state government could impose lockdown if the necessity arises. “People need to respond for their own good. If they don’t heed then we may have to take stringent measures. If required and if necessity arises, we will impose lockdown,” Yediyurappa said.

Maharashtra lockdown:
Maharashtra government will take an appropriate decision regarding imposing a lockdown in the state after April 14, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said. Last Sunday, the state government had announced a slew of restrictions, including a weekend lockdown, night curfew and prohibitory orders for the day time. These restrictions will continue till April 30.