₹1.15 crore penalty, 45 FIRs registered for defying Covid norms: Delhi govt

A large per cent of Delhi population have been flouting Covid-19 norms since the onset of restrictions on December 28. With the Covid cases on a rise, the police are arresting and fining people for their disregard.

The Delhi government has said that it collected ₹1.15 crore in fines for violations of Covid-19 norms on January 2. It also said that 45 FIRs were filed by the police for violations of safety guidelines by the public.

Delhi has been categorised under 'yellow alert' and all the social gatherings are banned. 

The number of violations on the new year day (January 1) was 66 and the fines collected amounted to ₹99 lakh.

Delhi reported 3,194 positive Covid cases on Sunday and another death, which is a 17% hike from the previous day. The positivity rate is on a rise - hovering around 4.59 per cent.

The spike in cases is fuelled by the raging variant of the Sars-CoV-2, named Omicron. It is heavily mutated and believed to be more resistant to existing vaccines.

Arvind Kejriwal’s government has implemented curbs in Delhi, under “Level 1” of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to prevent the surge of the Omicron strain. Delhi has been categorised under 'yellow alert' and all the social gatherings are banned. The cinema halls have been directed to open on odd-even basis and a night curfew is in place from 10pm to 5am.