COVID-19 cases surge: Delhi announces 6-day lockdown

In the wake of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the Capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on April 19 announced a 6-day lockdown starting 10 PM tonight until 6 am of April 26

In a televised press conference, Kejriwal said: “I fold my hands and pray to you all, please honour this small lockdown and don’t leave town.”

The Chief Minister said testing has increased in Delhi with approximately 1 lakh tests being done a day. “The situation is grave. This is the fourth wave in Delhi. With 25,000 cases, our health system is at the brink of collapsing,” he said.

Essential services will continue to operate normally, the CM said.

Earlier today, retailers and shopkeepers in the capital self-imposed a lockdown including the Chandni Chowk Traders Association until April 25 even before the Chief Minister made his announcement.

The curfew announcement comes a day after the Chief Minister had written to Prime Minister Modi asking for release of additional beds for Covid-19 patients from the Centre’s reserve.

In the interim, schools and sports facilities are being converted into Covid treatment facilities.

Earlier in the morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the Covid-19 Situation Review Meet as India topped global Covid-19 charts in both number of fresh cases and number of deaths recorded on a daily basis. India reported close to 274,000 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, 18th April. A similar meeting was held on Sunday too.