According to sources, the decision to withdraw the fine of Rs 500 for not wearing a mask in public places is likely to be reviewed. Sources said the fall in the number of people wearing masks was one of the reasons for the spurt in cases.
Kovid is under control but its outbreak is not going to end in the near future. A knee-jerk reaction to closing offline schooling will help little. It is more important to maintain the COVID protocol inside the premises.
On Wednesday, the city witnessed a 40-day high as 299 people tested positive for Covid-19. The positivity rate stood at 2.49%. A month ago, the positivity rate was consistently below 0.50%.
The DDMA meeting is scheduled to begin at 11 am on Wednesday, with a presentation by the Delhi government’s health and family welfare department as the first item on the agenda. After the presentation, the COVID-19 situation in Delhi will be reviewed, followed by a review of the vaccination schedule.
The meeting, to be chaired by the LG and via video-conferencing, was attended by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Revenue Minister Kailash Gehlot, Chief Secretary Vijay Dev, NITI Aayog member VK Paul, ICMR DG Dr. Balram Bhargava, AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria and NCDC director SK Singh besides senior officials of the Delhi government and other departments. The meeting was earlier scheduled to be held on April 18 at 12.45 pm, but was later rescheduled.
On Thursday, CM Kejriwal said that the Delhi government is monitoring the situation of Kovid-19 in the city, but there is no need to panic as the number of hospitalizations related to the viral infection is less. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said in a press conference that the state government is going to issue guidelines for schools in view of the spurt in Kovid-19 cases.