New Delhi: Delhi will go into a weekend curfew to tackle a record rise in Covid cases over the past few weeks. Essential activities, including weddings, will be allowed with curfew passes.
Auditoriums, malls, gyms and spas will be shut down and cinema theatres will be allowed with a third of the capacity.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced this after meeting with Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and other officials.
Delhi reported 17,282 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday in the highest single-day surge in the capital since the pandemic erupted. The figure makes Delhi the worst-hit city in the second wave of infections raging through the country.
Meanwhile, amid an alarming rise in coronavirus cases, the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday tightened existing restrictions in worst-hit districts, including extension of night curfew hours and deferring the state board exams till next month.
At the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a decision was also taken to extend the closure of schools till May 15.
"Due to a steady increase in COVID-19 cases, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to postpone Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations and has said that the new dates will be decided in May after reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the state. For students of Classes 1 to 12, classroom teaching will remain suspended till May 15. No exam will be held during this period. The UP Board Class 10 and Class 12 examinations will be held after May 20 and the new time table will be decided in the first week of May," the government has said.
Here are the Live Updates on Coronavirus India Cases:
Apr 16, 2021 05:35 (IST)
Pfizer Boss: Vaccine 3rd Dose "Likely" In 12 Months
The head of Pfizer said in an interview aired Thursday that people will "likely" need a third dose of his company's Covid-19 vaccine within a year of being fully vaccinated.
CEO Albert Bourla also said annual vaccinations against the coronavirus may well be required.
"We need to see what would be the sequence, and for how often we need to do that, that remains to be seen," Bourla told CNBC in an interview recorded on April 1.
"A likely scenario is that there will be likely a need for a third dose, somewhere between six and 12 months and then from there, there will be an annual revaccination, but all of that needs to be confirmed," he said, adding that variants will play a "key role."
Apr 16, 2021 04:48 (IST)
Centre Allows Mumbai's Haffkine To Produce Covaxin, Uddhav Thackeray Thanks PM
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allowing Maharashtra-government owned Haffkine Institute to manufacture Bharat Biotech''s Covaxin, on the basis of transfer of technology.
The Maharashtra government made the announcement regarding the approval through their official Twitter handle.
"The Dept of Science and Technology, Government of India, has granted approval to Haffkine Institute to produce Bharat Biotech''s Covaxin vaccine on a transfer of technology basis," CMO Maharashtra tweeted.
Apr 16, 2021 02:44 (IST)
100 new hospitals to have their own oxygen plant under PM-CARES Fund
The government on Thursday took decisions for easier availability of essential medical equipment and oxygen in the wake of rising cases of COVID-19 and said 100 new hospitals will have their own oxygen plant under PM-CARES Fund and another 50,000 MT of medical oxygen will be imported.
A meeting of Empowered Group 2 (EG2) was held on Thursday to review the availability of essential medical equipment and oxygen. The meeting identified 4880 MT, 5619 MT and 6593 MT for 12 high burden states for meeting their projected demand as on April 20, April 25 and April 30 respectively.
Apr 15, 2021 17:58 (IST)
Karnataka Health Minister announces new programme to keep sportspersons healthy
Health and medical education Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Thursday declared that a programme has been designed for sportspersons in Karnataka to keep them healthy.
Speaking to the media, the minister said that the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports and the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) have entered a formal agreement in which health experts from RGUHS will guide the talented sportspersons.
He also informed that department of youth empowerment and sports has designed a programme to provide quality health care to resident sportspersons in 34 sports hostels in the state.
Apr 15, 2021 13:59 (IST)
JUST IN | Coronavirus: Night curfew hours extended - now 8 pm-7 am - in Noida, Lucknow, other UP districts with over 2,000 active covid cases
Apr 15, 2021 13:14 (IST)
Bars, restaurants, and eateries will not be allowed to have in-house seating. Only takeaways and home deliveries to be allowed for now. Movie halls to be reduced to 30% capacity on weekdays. I would like to reiterate that essential services will be available throughout the weekend. So, please do not panic. Weekend curfew and these other restrictions are absolutely necessary and is for the safety of all Delhi people. I urge you all to cooperate. Together, we will see off this 4th Covid wave in Delhi too.
Apr 15, 2021 13:11 (IST)
There are just too many cases and Covid is surging across the city. Something needs to be done to curb this. For this, we have taken the decision that there will be a weekend curfew in Delhi. However, let me make it clear, that essential services and those whose marriage dates and venues are fixed will be issued special passes. Special arrangements are being made to have fewer people visit weekly markets. Auditoriums, cinema halls, spas, gyms, swimming pools are being ordered to shut for now.
Apr 15, 2021 13:06 (IST)
There is no shortage of hospital beds in Delhi... as we speak, there are more than 5,000 hospital beds free. If there is a particular hospital you want to go to and are picky or choosy about the fact that you want to go to a particular hospital, then that is a problem. You all should not insist for this. You must be open to going to any hospital where beds are available, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
