In fresh curbs, Delhi has now imposed a weekend curfew from Tuesday. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the decision comes in view of a surge in Covid cases driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
"There will be curfew on Saturdays and Sundays. People are requested to step out only when it is absolutely necessary," he said in a virtual press conference after a meeting of the Disaster Management Authority.
About 5,500 fresh Covid cases were reported in Delhi on Tuesday, with the positivity rate inching to 8.5 per cent.
As Delhi reels under fresh restrictions, here’s all you need to know about the Covid situation in the national capital:
1. Buses and Delhi metros will operate at full capacity. Earlier, the Delhi metro was supposed to run at 50 per cent capacity.
2. The state government directed that said most offices would have to make half their employees work from home. Offices should be running at 50 per cent capacity.
3. Earlier, the Delhi government had ordered that private offices can function with up to 50 per cent of the staff barring those designated essential services, which includes hospitals, media, banks, insurance companies and telecom services. In Delhi government offices also, barring certain categories of officials, only half of the remaining staff will be allowed.
4. According to reports, Delhi might issue a red alert as the positivity rate remained above 5 per cent for two consecutive days.
5. Under the red alert, there will be a total shut down of non-essential services, malls, shops etc. A yellow alert has already been in place following a spike in cases.
6. On December 29, the Delhi government had issued a Yellow Alert as Omicron cases had started to rise exponentially in the national capital.
7. Delhi has reported a rising positivity rate or the number of people testing positive for every 100 tests. On Monday, 4,099 new cases and one death were reported in 24 hours. At the same time, the positivity rate was recorded at 6.46 per cent
8. With the yellow alert in place, a night curfew is already in place from 10 pm to 5 am.
9. Malls, shops and establishments of non-essential goods and services and malls will open based on an odd-even formula from 10 AM to 8 PM.
10. Restaurants will be permitted with 50 per cent capacity from 8 am to 10 pm while bars can also operate with the same capacity, but from 12 noon to 10 pm.
On Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tested positive for Covid-19, however, with mild symptoms.
