CM Arvind Kejriwal reviews Covid situation in Delhi, decides to ban firecrackers

In a tweet, Kejriwal said the Covid-19 cases in Delhi have increased due to the festival season and pollution. The review meet was attended by the chief secretary and all district magistrates.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejwiral on Thursday held a review meeting to discuss the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the national capital. After the meeting, he ordered a ban on firecrackers amid the ongoing festive season and ramping up of the medical infrastructure.

On Wednesday, the chief minister said that Delhi has been witnessing a third wave of the Covid-19 outbreak, but added that the government is closely monitoring the situation and there is no need to panic. (ANI Photo)

In a tweet, Kejriwal said the Covid-19 cases in Delhi have increased due to the festival season and pollution. The review meet was attended by the chief secretary and all district magistrates.

“Del HC has stayed our order to increase ICU beds in pvt hospitals. Filed appeal in SC yesterday. We hope SC will lift the stay keeping in view the critical situation,” the chief minister said in the tweet.

For the past few days, Delhi has reported a huge surge in its daily Covid-19 tally. 6,800 fresh cases and 51 more related fatalities were registered on Wednesday which pushed the overall tally to over 400,000. This was the second consecutive day when nearly 7,000 cases were reported in a span of 24 hours.

The government has now started conducting Covid-19 tests in markets and other crowded areas to strengthen its surveillance mechanism.

The Union home ministry had recently attributed the recent rise in cases in Delhi due to festive season and leniency shown by residents in following Covid-19 related restrictions.

As the use of firecrackers increases pollution which could lead to a spike in respiratory disease (critical in times of Covid-19), the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had on Monday issued notices to Delhi along with Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to ban their use as these four states are massively affected by air pollution ahead of the winter season.