Covid-19: ‘Unlock 2.0’ in Delhi from today, Metro services to resume

As announced by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday, markets and malls can open on an ‘odd-even’ basis from 10am-8pm, while standalone shops can open on all days.

Delhi will begin unlocking further from the Covid-19 induced lockdown on Monday as more relaxations will come into effect on the day. The announcement in this regard was made by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday, who also announced the extension of the lockdown for now, except for the sectors in which relaxations have been announced.

Delhi Metro will resume services at a seating capacity of 50% (Representative image/@DMRC)

As announced by Kejriwal, the Delhi Metro will resume operations at a seating capacity of 50%. In a tweet, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) said that only half the number of available trains will be pressed into service on June 7 and will operate at a frequency ranging between five to 15 minutes on different lines. The DMRC also said that trains will be inducted in full strength from June 9, and, thereafter, services will be available as per normal frequency at which they were operating before the lockdown came into effect at 10pm on April 19 after being announced earlier in the day.

As for other exemptions, markets and malls have been allowed to open on an “odd-even” basis from 10am-8pm, while standalone shops can open on all days. Offices have also been allowed to open; government offices will work at a capacity of 100% for Grade-A officers while for officers below Grade-A, 50% strength has been allowed. Private offices can work with 50% staff though work from home or staggered timings have been recommended by the Delhi government. E-commerce services can also resume while status quo has been ordered on all remaining activities.

Construction works and factories were the first two sectors to be granted exemption from the lockdown and resumed services on May 31.

On the daily Covid-19 caseload front, the Capital on Sunday reported 381 new cases from the preceding 24 hours, taking its infection tally to 1,429,244. This was the city’s lowest single-day rise since 368 fresh infections were reported on March 15. Delhi also saw 1,189 new recoveries and 34 related fatalities, taking the total recovered cases and death toll to 1,398,764 and 24,591 respectively. Active cases, meanwhile, are at 5,889.