Delhi govt announces new COVID-19 curbs amid rise in cases, weekend curfew imposed

New Delhi: Delhi will impose a weekend curfew and work from home for government offices to tackle soaring Covid cases, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said today after a meeting on new restrictions. Buses and the Delhi metro will operate at full capacity, he added. 

He also said most offices would have to make half their employees work from home.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) met to decide on new curbs with the positivity rate in Delhi staying above five per cent for two straight days - a level that triggers a red alert under the colour-coded Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).  

"DDMA has decided to impose a curfew in Delhi on Saturdays and Sundays to curb COVID surge. All government officials except for those engaged in essential services will work from home. 50% workforce of private offices will work from home," Mr Sisodia told reporters.

"Buses and metro will function at 100 per cent but not without a mask. There is nothing to worry about. Make masks your shield."  

Delhi has reported a rising positivity rate or the number of people testing positive for every 100 tests. On Monday, 4,099 new cases and one death were reported in 24 hours.  

The positivity rate in Delhi is at 6.46 per cent, the highest since May.

Earlier today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 but had mild symptoms. 

A 10 pm to 5 am night curfew is already in place in Delhi as part of "yellow alert" restrictions announced on December 29. Cinemas, gyms are shut and shops have been allowed on an odd-even basis. Metro trains and buses can only operate at half the capacity.  

Top health ministry sources say Delhi may see 20-25,000 cases a day by mid-January and hospitalisations may increase.

At the current rate of infection, Delhi may report 8-9,000 daily cases by January 8, top sources in the Union Health Ministry told NDTV.   

"By January 5, there could be 20-25,000 daily cases in Delhi," the sources said, cautioning against underestimating the Omicron surge.