77 containment zones, 1893 Covid-19 cases: Arvind Kejriwal on why lockdown rules won’t be relaxed in Delhi

The nationwide lockdown, which was put in place from March 25 to check the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus, has been extended till May 3.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday gave a number of reasons why there won’t be any relaxation in the rules during the lockdown till May 3 in the national capital.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. (ANI photo)

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief said he will hold a review meeting after a week on April 27 to review the situation. The nationwide lockdown, which was put in place from March 25 to check the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus, has been extended till May 3.

“The Centre has said there should be no laxity in the rules in the hotspots and containment zones for the time being because the situation is bad there and we need to control it. Delhi has 11 districts and all of them have been declared as hotspots,” Kejriwal said.

“So according to the central government, there cannot be any relaxations in rules in these containment zones,” he said.

Here are the reasons he gave:

* Out of the 736 people tested for the coronavirus disease, the report of 186 or 25% came positive.

* All the 186 Covid-19 positive cases that were reported on Saturday were asymptomatic. They did not have any cough, fever or any breathing trouble.

* They didn’t know they had coronavirus disease and were roaming around. This is more worrying.

* All 11 districts in the national capital, he said, are Covid-19 hotspots and there are 77 containment zones across the city-state.

* The infection is spreading rapidly in Delhi but the situation is under control. It is worrisome but there is no need to panic and people must be disciplined to bring the infections under control.

* There are 1893 patients of the coronavirus disease as of today, 26 of them are in intensive care units (ICUs) and six are on ventilator support. Forty-three people have died, he said.

* If the lockdown hadn’t been in place, he said, the situation would have been as bad as in Italy, Spain and the US.

* About 2% of the country’s total population lives in Delhi but 12% of the total coronavirus disease cases in the country are in the national capital.

* Delhi has been hit the hardest, Arvind Kejriwal said.

* If the government becomes lax about the lockdown rules and the number of ICUs aren’t enough and hospital beds, ventilator and oxygen cylinders fall short and the number of fatalities goes up, the government won’t be able to forgive itself.

* The rules won’t be relaxed keeping everything in mind, the health and lives of the people of Delhi.