Delhi seeing '4th wave' of coronavirus, no lockdown plans yet, says Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday, April 2, said the national capital is reeling under the "fourth wave" of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that there won't be any lockdown, for now.

If there is a need for a lockdown in the future, a decision will be taken after consultation, he said. However, the fourth wave of coronavirus in Delhi is less serious than the previous ones as there are fewer number of deaths and hospitalisations this time, CM Kejriwal added.

After a high-level meeting, Kejriwal suggested that the Centre should lift the age bar of 45 years for vaccination to pave the way for mass-level inoculation.

If the Centre allowed vaccination at non-healthcare facilities like schools, immunisation be undertaken on a war footing to check the spread of the virus, he said.

Last week, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had also dismissed any possibility of imposing another lockdown in the city.

Delhi recorded 2,790 fresh COVID-19 cases on Thursday, which is the highest daily count so far this year. The positivity rate mounted to 3.57 per cent in the city. So far, 11,036 people have lost their lives due to COVID-19 in the national capital, while 6.43 lakh people have recovered from it.

Health experts and doctors have attributed the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases to people turning complacent and not following COVID-appropriate behaviour.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi were declining this year till February, with 256 positive cases reported on February 26 being the highest till then. However, daily cases began to rise again in March and have been steadily increasing since then.

The Delhi CM urged people to wear masks, maintain social distancing and regularly wash hands to prevent the spread of the virus.