Government and municipal officials not involved in essential services in Delhi will work from home. According to the Deputy CM, private offices will be allowed to call 50 percent of their staff into the office.
The lockdown will begin this weekend in Delhi, said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. To eliminate crowding at bus stops and stations, Delhi metro and buses will now allow 100% seat occupancy.
A meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) was held to review the Covid-19 situation in the national capital.
“I request people to not go out during the weekends, unless it is an emergency,” Sisodia said.
“We saw in some cases that because the seating capacity in buses was curtailed, long lines and crowds were seen at bus stops. These places were at a risk of becoming super-spreaders. We have decided that buses and metros will now run at full capacity, but no one will be allowed in without masks. This is being done to ensure there is no crowding at stations and bus stops,” he added.
A decision was made to allow all Delhi government and municipal officials who are not involved in essential services to work from home. According to the Deputy CM, private offices can call 50 percent of their employees into the office.
On Monday, Delhi reported 4,099 cases at a positivity rate of 6.49 percent. There were 420 patients admitted to hospitals, of which 66 were suspected to have Covid and 12 were transferred from the airport to hospitals. There are 211 asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients, 124 patients receiving oxygen support, and seven patients being ventilated.
“Globally, the number of Omicron Covid cases is on the rise. International trends indicate that the variant does not cause severe illness. The same trend is evident in Delhi, as well… Experts believe that Omicron usually causes mild symptoms and recovers quickly. But we do have to be careful and follow Covid appropriate behavior. Unless your oxygen level drops, experts recommend that you isolate yourself at home. In order to better manage resources, the government is wary and doesn’t want the disease to spread,” Sisodia said.