Delhi curfew: Twitter user asks police if playing cricket is allowed. Here's the answer

Cab services will run as usual but with up to two passengers. People travelling to attend a wedding will have to carry the wedding invitation, Delhi Police said on Friday answering to people's questions on social media.

As Delhi goes under a 55-hour curfew starting from Friday 10pm which will end on 5am on Monday, a social media user asked Delhi Police whether playing cricket with social distancing and mask is allowed in the city during the weekend lockdown. "That's a silly point, sir. It is time to take extra cover. Also Delhi Police is good at catching," Delhi Police replied on Twitter, making it clear in cricket terminolgy that no non-emergency service, activity will be allowed in Delhi during the weekend lockdown.

The 55-hour curfew in Delhi begins from 10pm on Friday.

The Delhi Police answered some FAQs on its Twitter handle clarifying that e-pass will be required for non-essential movement during the curfew period though one can go out to purchase essential goods like groceries, medicines and vegetables. Media persons with valid I cards are exempt, the department clarified. Industries with on-site labour will run, as usual, the police said.

Cab services will run as usual but with up to two passengers. People travelling to attend a wedding will have to carry the wedding invitation, the social media handle tweeted, replying to individuals. People requiring medical services must carry medical documents.

Metro services will be available at a frequency of 15 minutes on the Yellow Line (i.e. HUDA City Centre to Samaypur Badli) and Blue Line (i.e. Dwarka Sec-21 to NOIDA Electronic City/Vaishali) on the weekend. On all other lines, trains will be available at a frequency of 20 minutes.

Delhi on Friday recorded 17,335 fresh cases, the highest since May 2021. During the height of the second wave of the pandemic, 28,395 cases, the highest-ever single-day tally here, and 277 deaths were recorded in Delhi on April 20 last year, as per official figures.

Though the rise is worrying, imposing any further restriction apart from the night curfew and the weekend lockdown is not being considered as of now, as the rate of hospitalisation is low. Delhi has reported six times lower hospital admissions due to the coronavirus this time as compared to the first wave of the pandemic, health minister Satyendar Jain said. "Compared to the first wave of the coronavirus, this time, the number of patients admitted to hospitals is six times lower.... Some health workers, including doctors, have tested positive, but in very small numbers," the minister said.