Delhi has less than 12,000 new active coronavirus cases as of Monday evening (File)
New Delhi:
The Delhi government has allowed street vendors and hawkers to operate from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily in the nation’s capital, except in coronavirus containment areas. They will need to follow hygiene protocols such as social distancing.
The government, however, has banned weekly bazaars until further notice, in accordance with social distancing guidelines enforced to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
“A special order is placed by which street vendors and hawkers can resume their work and livelihood in Delhi,” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said as quoted by the PTI news agency.
The order is expected to come as a relief for the lakhs of hawkers in the nation’s capital, whose commerce and livelihoods have been severely disrupted by the coronavirus lockdown.
The order also comes on the day Delhi recorded its smallest daily increase in COVID-19 cases in two months – only 613 new infections have been reported in the past 24 hours.
A total of 1.31 lakh cases have been recorded in the nation’s capital since the start of the epidemic, but among them less than 12,000 are active cases and around 3,800 are virus-related deaths.
The collection rate in Delhi is 88%.
The turnaround in the Covid situation in the city, which had reported between 1,000 and 2,000 new cases per day at the peak of the infection, is significant.
“Due to the hard work and attention of two million people in Delhi, the situation is now improving. Today, the Delhi Covid model is being discussed across the country and around the world.” Chief Minister Kejriwal said in a video message Monday afternoon.
India’s total crossed 14 lakh and although the country remains third on the list of worst-affected countries (behind the United States and Brazil), the continued rise in daily cases is cause for concern.
There have been over 45,000 new cases every day since July 23; more than 48,000 were reported on Monday.
Also on Monday, sources told GalacticGaming that the center is considering a request to allow cinemas and gymnasiums to reopen, albeit with restrictions and pending clearance from state governments, as part of “Unlock3,” or the next phase out of the coronavirus lockdown.
“Unlock2” ends July 31st.
Delhi had asked the center to authorize the operation of the metro, but a decision on this has not yet been made.
Cinemas, gymnasiums, schools and colleges have been closed since India went into lockdown in late March to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 600,000 around the world.
With the contribution of PTI
