The Delhi government has extended the COVID-19 induced lockdown extended by another week, making the restrictions stricter, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday. The lockdown will be on till May 17.
Kejriwal further said that metro services will remain suspended during this period. During the previous lockdown, metro services were available from 8 am to 10 am and 5 pm to 7 pm.
This would be the fourth week of the lockdown imposed in the national capital to contain the spread of COVID-19. On April 19, Kejriwal announced a six-day lockdown, which was later extended to May 3 and then May 10.
The chief minister said the decision to extend the lockdown in the city was on the basis of the feedback received from the people.
The COVID-19 positivity rate in the national capital has slowed down due to the lockdown, Kejriwal said.
"The positivity rate which was 35 per cent on April 26 has now come down to 23 per cent. However, this is not the time for laxity, if there is life, there is a world, the rest will be done later. It is necessary to secure life first. I thank all Delhiites for their support in this lockdown," the chief minister said.
"During the lockdown we utilised the time to enhance our healthcare infrastructure. Oxygen beds were arranged in many areas but the the main issue was oxygen shortage. Following the orders of the Supreme Court and High Court, the Central government also helped in oxygen supply, and SOS calls for oxygen have been released," Kejriwal added.
Meanwhile, Delhi reported 13,336 new COVID-19 cases and 273 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the city's total cases to 13,23,567 and death toll to 19,344, as per the latest updates from the Delhi state health bulletin.
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