Delhi enters day 2 of week-long Covid-19 lockdown amid exodus of migrant workers
Police commissioner SN Shrivastava appealed to people to remain inside their homes and assured them that essential items will be available.
Delhi has entered the second day of its week-long curfew on Wednesday as the Capital steps up its effort to stop the transmission of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases. Visuals shared by news agency ANI showed Delhi Police officials checking vehicles and IDs of people inside cars as they tried to ensure strict implementation of the curfew. The weeklong curfew, which came to effect from 10pm on April 19 will continue till 5am, April 26.
The Delhi Police on Tuesday issued fines to several people who stepped out of their homes, though the number was not very high as the curfew in the capital has mostly received a positive response.
Police commissioner SN Shrivastava appealed to people to remain inside their homes and assured them that essential items will be available. “I appeal to the citizens of the national capital to stay inside their homes. Lockdown has been announced from 10 pm on Monday till 5 am on April 26. Essential commodities will be available,” Shrivastava said. People who were roaming unnecessarily were also issued challans and sensitised about Covid-19 preventative measures.
On Tuesday night, the Capital saw an exodus of migrant workers crowding the interstate bus terminals to leave for their native states. Despite assurances from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech on Tuesday, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and city police commissioner Shrivastava, workers are unsure about their future in the lockdown down Capital.
Delhi which has been reporting more than 25,000 cases for the past few days is also facing a shortage of medical oxygen and is experiencing a tough situation to accommodate patients as hospital beds and medicine shortages continue to affect citizens. Delhi’s test labs are also facing an uphill battle as the rapid rise in the number of Covid-19 cases coupled with large numbers of requests for either RT-PCR or antigen tests forced many private labs to halt the collection of swab samples, news agency ANI reported. Delhi’s positivity rate jumped to 32.82% indicating that every third sample taken in the Capital came out positive.