New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a six-day lockdown of India’s national capital as a tsunami of COVID-19 cases is overwhelming the world’s second most populous country.
The lockdown will begin from 10 pm tonight and last till 5 am next Monday.
Kejriwal, who had initially said the fourth wave that Delhi is facing wont impact much, now said the pandemic in Delhi has brought healthcare services to the brink of collapse.
“In order to prevent a total collapse, L-G Anil Baijal and I took this decision. And in this duration, essential services will be allowed and more beds will also be set up,” the Chief Minister said.
On Sunday, the national capital witnessed the highest surge in its daily COVID-19 count with 25,462 fresh cases. Delhi has recorded 161 deaths due to the disease in the last 24 hours.
India has recorded 2,73,810 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The total number of infections has reached 1.5 crores in India.
Last week, the Delhi government had imposed a weekend curfew in Delhi from 10:00 pm on 16 April till 6:00 am on 19 April to curb the spread of the virus in the state.