In the wake of the Centre deciding to extend the nationwide lockdown by two weeks and issuing guidelines based on the risk profiling of districts, the Delhi government on Saturday said that all 11 districts in the capital are in the highest-risk red zone, and the norms laid down for such areas will be followed till May 17.
“The categorisation is done based on the number of cases. If there are three or more cases reported from a district, it is regarded as a red zone. Going by this, all 11 districts in Delhi are in the red zone,” said Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain.
Jain said the norms laid down by the Centre for areas falling in the red zone will be followed in the national capital. “All exemptions and all the norms which have been prescribed by the Centre for areas in red zone will be followed in all 11 districts till May 17,” he said.
There was speculation whether Delhi will opt for a ward-wise categorisation of zones instead of districts so that restrictions can be eased in some areas. However, as Jain specified on Saturday, the government has decided to go by the district-wise categorisation till May 17.
As on May 1, Delhi had 97 containment zones, which are areas that have been sealed off and are subjected to greater surveillance and restrictions owing to a spread of the COVID-19 virus. There was a spurt in the number of cases in the capital on Friday, with 223 new cases getting reported, and the total number of cases going up to 3,738. So far, 61 people have died due to COVID-19 in Delhi.
