No Possibility of Lockdown: Delhi Min Amid Rise in COVID Cases

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(Photo: PTI)

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Saturday, 27 March, said there is no possibility of a lockdown as of now. His comment came amid a steady increase in COVID-19 cases in the national capital over the last few days.

“First it was said that it’s a 14-day cycle between infection and recovery. Experts said if all activities close for 21 days, it won’t spread. Lockdown was extended, but it didn’t stop (the spread) completely. So, I don’t think lockdown is the solution.”

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain

"There were fewer cases earlier, but the number has increased now. So, we have increased the number of tests and are conducting 85,000-90,000 tests every day. This figure is more than 5 percent of the national average. We are also doing contact tracing and isolation,” Jain was further quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

1,534 New Cases on Friday

Pointing out that hospitals in Delhi have enough beds at the moment, he said the occupancy is around 20 percent currently. “We are monitoring this, if occupancy increases, we shall increase the number of beds,” Jain added.

On Friday, Delhi reported 1,534 new COVID cases, taking the tally in the capital to 6,54,276. The death toll increased by nine to 10,987.

India has been witnessing a rapid rise in COVID cases over the past one month, led by the surge in Maharashtra. On Saturday, the country reported 62,258 new infections, in what was the biggest one-day rise since 16 October.

(With inputs from ANI.)