Home ›› 06 Apr 2021 ›› World Biz
The government of the Indian capital Tuesday announced a night curfew across the city in the wake of a relentless surge in Covid-19 cases.
The night curfew will be in place daily from 10 pm to 5 am till April 30, the government of Delhi said in an order.
On Monday, Delhi recorded as many as 3,548 fresh Covid-19 cases and 15 deaths.
The same day, India registered the highest number of cases in 24 hours -- at one lakh.
The Delhi government's order comes barely four days after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the national capital was going through the fourth wave of Covid-19 but a lockdown was not being considered yet.
"As per the current situation, we are not considering imposing a lockdown. We are closely monitoring the situation and such a decision will only be taken after due public consultation," he said Friday.
According to the government order, restuarants, night clubs and malls will not be allowed to operate after 10 pm. However, there will be no restrictions on emergency traffic movement during the curfew hours.
Exceptions have also been made for those in essential services, including doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers, as well as pregnant women and journalists, the government said in its order.
Delhi is actually part of a region known as the National Capital Territory. The city is ruled by Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party-led government, but Delhi Police comes under the direct control of the central government.
However, Delhi's neighbouring cities in the National Capital Region such as Noida and Gurgaon, are yet to impose night curfew, despite a surge in the number of corona cases and deaths in recent weeks.
Two Indian states -- Maharashtra and Rajasthan -- have already imposed similar restrictions to break the chain of Covid transmission. Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, is India's worst-affected city in terms of cases and deaths.
