- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
FRESH coronavirus restrictions will be imposed in Delhi with a “yellow alert” amid the growing number of cases, state chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday (28) said, adding that a “detailed order” will be shared soon.
The restrictions will come into effect after the national capital witnessed the highest single-day spike in cases in six months on Monday, with 331 new cases.
The positivity rate – the percentage of samples that return positive – was more than 0.5 per cent for two days, which according to the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), triggered the yellow alert.
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“We have stayed above 0.5 per cent positivity rate for more than two days. We are enforcing Level-I (Yellow alert) of the Graded Response Action Plan. A detailed order on restrictions to be implemented will be released soon,” Kejriwal said after a meeting with top officials.
“We are 10 times more prepared than earlier to deal with the rise in Covid cases in Delhi,” the Aam Aadmi Party leader said, adding that Covid cases were mild and there was no increase in the consumption of oxygen or the use of ventilators despite the rise in numbers.
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“Over the past few days cases have been going up but there is no need to worry and panic. We are mostly seeing mild and asymptomatic cases and there is no need for hospitalisation in these cases. Most patients admitted in hospitals do not need oxygen or ICUs… But we do not want the disease to spread and you to fall ill… We had earlier notified GRAP to deal with an increase in cases. It was drawn up in a scientific manner and would aid simpler implementation,” Kejriwal was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
He, however, urged caution over recent images showing a large number of people gathering at markets in Delhi, many of whom have not cared to wear masks.
The GRAP plan is a four-stage colour-coded alert system in which action will be decided based on the circumstances. It is based on the measures of positivity rate, new Covid cases and the number of oxygen beds.
The four types of alerts in GRAP are: Level-1 (yellow), Level-2 (amber), Level-3 (orange) and Level-4 (red).
The restrictions under the GRAP include closing all educational institutions, capping attendance at wedding and funeral gatherings to 20, slashing seat occupancy in Delhi Metro and buses to 50 per cent, among other measures.
Under GRAP which was notified in August, different restrictions are supposed to come into force if cases, positivity rate or cases of hospitalisation go beyond a certain limit, the Express report added.
