New restrictions will take effect in Delhi with a "yellow alert" amid a rise in Covid cases, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today, adding that a "detailed order" will be shared soon.
The restrictions follow Delhi's biggest single-day spike in infections in six months yesterday, with 331 new cases. The positivity rate -the percentage of samples that return positive -- was above 0.5 per cent for two days, which, according to GRAP, is the trigger for a yellow alert.
"We have stayed above 0.5 per cent positivity rate for more than two days. We are enforcing Level-I (Yellow alert) of the Graded Response Action Plan. A detailed order on restrictions to be implemented will be released soon," the Chief Minister said after a meeting with top officials.
"We are 10 times more prepared than earlier to deal with the rise in Covid cases in Delhi," he assured, adding that Covid cases were mild and there was no increase in the consumption of oxygen or the use of ventilators despite the rise in numbers.
However, Mr Kejriwal urged caution over recent images showing big crowds at markets in the capital and people without masks.
"Such pictures of crowds and people not wearing masks should not come out or we will have to shut down markets and that would cause a lot of problems," he warned.
The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Level 1 or Yellow alert kicks in when the positivity rate crosses 0.5 percent for two consecutive days.
GRAP is based on the measures of positivity rate, new Covid cases and the number of oxygen beds. There are four levels -- yellow, amber, orange and red.
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