E-Paper
Delhi will implement Centre’s guidelines on reopening of shops, says Kejriwal
Addressing a press briefing through video, Arvind Kejriwal said his government will implement the Centre’s guidelines on the opening of neighbourhood and standalone shops during the lockdown till May 3 in the national capital.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday presented data on the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the national capital to say his government will not allow any more relaxation in rules during the ongoing lockdown than those permitted by the Union ministry of home affairs.
Addressing a press briefing through video, the chief minister said his government will implement the Centre’s guidelines on the opening of neighbourhood and standalone shops during the lockdown till May 3 in the national capital.
Follow latest updates on coronavirus here
“Essential services will continue. Medical stores, grocery stores, fruits and vegetable shops, dairy will remain open. Besides this, no shopping complex or market will open. No shopping malls will open. But standalone shops in residential areas and neighbourhood shops will open as directed by the Centre,” he said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, however, pointed out that no shop will be allowed to open in the more than 90 containment zones in the city.
“We will not allow anything else to open till May 3 for the next one week. The restrictions will continue like this till May 3. All of you have worked hard to keep the situation under control and we need to keep it up,” he said.
“The Prime Minister has decided to extend the lockdown till May 3. Our decision on what to do in Delhi after May 3 will depend on what the central government does,” he said.
Arvind Kejriwal also said the last week was slightly better than the week before for the people of Delhi in terms of the number of cases and deaths. Many people went home after making a complete recovery, he pointed.
“In the seventh week since the beginning of the corona pandemic, 850 new cases were reported and for once we were really worried and said the cases were increasing rapidly. And in the eighth week, the last week, 622 cases were reported,” he said.
Click here for complete coronavirus coverage
It has been seen across the world that when coronavirus cases go up they double up.
“In the seventh week 21 people died and last week nine died. Our efforts are to save people’s lives. In the seventh week, 260 people recovered and were discharged from hospitals, in the eighth week 580 went home,” he said.
There is good news, he said.
“A patient in LNJP Hospital was in critical condition and doctors said he was sinking. He was administered plasma therapy and his health has improved significantly. This has encouraged us as far as plasma therapy is concerned,” Kejriwal said.
“We are asking every patient, who has recovered and discharged, to donate plasma,” he urged.
The number of coronavirus disease cases in Delhi stood at 3548 on Sunday morning, including 2625 patients and 869 discharges and 54 fatalities, according to the Union health ministry.
