Will Lock Down Delhi If Needed To Save Your Life, Says Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that the government will consider a lockdown of the national capital if required as the number of coronavirus cases in the city rose to 26.

"If needed, to save your life, we will lock down Delhi. However, such a situation has not come yet," he said.

Coronavirus cases in India rose to 283 on Saturday after 47 people tested positive in the global pandemic in various parts of the country, the Health Ministry said, in line with the sharp spike seen on Friday.

People braced for the one day "Janata Curfew" on Sunday from 7 am and 9 pm, widely seen as a pilot for a broader lockdown that can be imposed if the spread continues unabated.

The scare of an outbreak escalated to power circles in India on Friday after singer Kanika Kapoor who was at a party attended by parliamentarian Dushyant Singh tested positive. A police case has been filed against the singer for negligence.

In Noida, neighbouring Delhi, another man has tested positive for coronavirustaking the total to 5. The district administration has locked down his residential society which has thousands of residents, from 10 am Saturday till 7 am on Monday for sanitisation, the officials said.