In his press conference today, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal said he was not in favour of the lockdown. “Any government should enforce a lockdown only when its hospital system collapses. Right now hospital situation in Delhi is in control… But if hospitals start facing bed shortage, then we may be forced to announce a lockdown. But we do not want a lockdown in Delhi,” he said. 

In the last 24 hours, Delhi has recorded 10,732 corona cases, the highest such cases since the pandemic began. “We have today crossed the 10,500 mark for daily corona cases. In its last peak in November, the city had registered a maximum of 8,500 cases a day… 65 per cent [corona] patients in Delhi are below 45 years of age,” said Kejriwal. He went on to add that the city had already witnessed three COVID19 waves, but this fourth wave was very dangerous and citizens needed to follow all precautions.

“We are not in favour of a lockdown, but have announced some restrictions. Citizens must follow them. Three things are important — wear your mask, maintain social distancing and wash your hands regularly,” the chief minister said. 

He went on to inform that the Delhi government was working hard to ensure there is no bed shortage, or the shortage of oxygen or ICU beds in Delhi. Residents can check bed availability on an app which the state government had launched last June. This apps shows bed availability in hospitals. He also urged citizens to not just rush to private hospitals but also visit government hospitals, which were well equipped to handle corona patients. 

On April 9, in the wake of rising corona cases, the Delhi government ordered closing down of all private and government educational institutions (schools, colleges, coaching institutes) till further notice.

As per its order dated April 10, all social/political/sports/entertainment/academic/cultural religious/festival related and other gatherings and congregations are prohibited too. Funeral and last rites related gathering are allowed up to 20 persons. For marriage related gatherings, 50 people are allowed. Restaurants and bars have to operate at 50 per cent seating capacity. Transportation by Delhi Metro also limited to 50 per cent of the coach capacity.

Meanwhile, today evening at 5 pm, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has called for a meeting to take a decision on imposing lockdown in the state. Maharashtra is the worst affected state due to COVID-19.