Coronavirus spreading in Delhi, won't relax lockdown just yet: Kejriwal

The Delhi government will not relax the lockdown for at least a week as the coronavirus spread appears to have gained pace, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday, asserting that the decision has been taken to save lives. Citing instances of asymptomatic people testing positive for the virus, Kejriwal said out of 736 samples collected recently, 186 were found infected by COVID-19 and the people did not know they were carrying the virus.

"When we talked to one of them, he said he was engaged in serving food at a government-run centre. I have ordered for rapid testing of all those who visited the centre. We will also do rapid testing of all people engaged in food distribution at government-run centres," Kejriwal said during a video conference. He has previously said his government has been serving food to around 10 lakh people daily.

Kejriwal, however, assured the situation is under control and his government will reassess it after a week to see what relaxations can be given. An order by Chief Secretary Vijay Dev said the administration will review the situation on April 27. The decision to prolong the restrictions came a day after the Delhi government added eight new containment zones, increasing their total to 76, and as the number of COVID-19 cases neared 1,900 in the city. In a containment zone, people are not allowed to step out of their homes and essential items are delivered at their doorsteps by the government. "Many people are facing difficulties due to the lockdown. We want to relax it. But if we give relaxations and there is a shortage of ICU, ventilators, oxygen in hospitals and people lose their lives, we won't be able to forgive ourselves," Kejriwal said.

“Had there been no lockdown, the situation here would have been similar to Italy and Spain," he warned, stressing that Delhi has 2 per cent of the country's population but 12 per cent of the total COVID-19 cases. Citing the Tablighi Jamaat congregation last month, which emerged as a big hotspot, and the large inflow of travellers from other countries to Delhi as the reasons for the spread of the virus, he said Delhi was “fighting a difficult battle”.

“Delhi bore the brunt of maximum travellers from other countries. Delhi also bore the brunt due to an incident in the markaz," he added. Kejriwal said 26 coronavirus patients are currently in intensive care and six on ventilator support.