Restrictions were put in place in view of people's health, Kejriwal said after hoisting the national flag at the Delhi government's Republic Day function.
The Delhi government does not want livelihood of people to be affected and Covid restrictions will be eased as soon as possible, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted on Tuesday, saying the city's positivity rate has reduced to 10 per cent in 10 days.
"Delhiites have suffered the most due to Covid. We don't want that your livelihood is affected but your health is important, so we had to put restrictions," he said. Recently, the Delhi government's proposal to lift weekend curfew and odd-even scheme of opening shops in view of the improving Covid situation here was turned down by the Lieutenant Governor (L-G).
"Last week some traders had come and they said they are facing lots of problems due to the odd-even scheme and weekend curfew. The L-G agreed to some proposals and on some, he differed. We will remove these restrictions as soon as possible," Kejriwal said.
He said Delhi is suffering from the "fifth wave" of the coronavirus pandemic which is being fuelled by the Omicron variant of the virus. The Omicron variant spreads very fast but it is said to be mild, the chief minister said. Kejriwal also spoke on reducing number of Covid cases and Delhi's vaccination programme.
On January 13, the number of cases were 29,000 and even then, only 2,500-3,000 beds were occupied, he said. The chief minister said on January 15, the highest positivity rate was reported which was about 30 per cent. But it has reduced to 10 per cent in last 10 days, he said, adding that the number of cases is also reducing. He said it was possible due to consistent vaccination.
"Vaccination in Delhi has been conducted at the ward level on mission mode. First dose has been administered to 100 per cent people while 82 per cent have got the second dose as well. I think it is a record in the country and the world as well,” Kejriwal said. He said that in the entire country it is the third Covid wave but for Delhi it is the fifth wave.
Covid is a virus which came from foreign countries and most international flights come to Delhi. So, whenever a new variant is reported, it has come to Delhi first, Kejriwal said. “But the way Delhi’s officers, doctors and others tackled this coronavirus pandemic, and the way Delhiites patiently faced it in a disciplined way, is really commendable,” he said.
With inputs from PTI.