All the relaxations announced by the Union government for areas that fall under the red zone, will be implemented in Delhi—where all 11 districts are marked red—Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal declared today. But he asserted that the national capital was ready for removal of lockdown and said he will try to convince the Union government that, apart from the containment zones, the rest of the city be considered a green zone.
In line with the guidelines issued by the Centre for the third extension of the lockdown, all offices of Delhi government will open from tomorrow. The departments that deal with essential services can have 100 per cent attendance. In other departments, offices of deputy secretary and above levels are expected to have 100 per cent attendance, and below that, 33 per cent staff will be present.
All private offices have been allowed to open from tomorrow, and they can have a maximum strength of 33 per cent.
However, public transport will remain shut, which includes metro and bus services. All inter-state, as well as city buses, will be off the roads. Cycle rickshaws, autos, taxis and cab aggregator services will also be off the roads. No air or rail services will be permitted.
Also, with regard to private vehicles, in the case of four wheelers, two passengers in the backseat will be allowed besides the person driving it. No pillion-riding will be allowed on two wheelers.
All schools, colleges, coaching centres and other educational institutions will remain closed. All hospitality services, including hotels, restaurants will have to remain closed. Cinema halls, malls, gyms and sports complexes have not been allowed to function. While malls and markets cannot open, shops that deal with essential services in these complexes can function. Stationery shops can also open. Barber shops, spas and salons have also not been allowed to open.
All religious places will remain closed and no socio-political, cultural or any other kind of gatherings will be allowed.
Also, people cannot step out from 7pm to 7am, except in case of an emergency.
Delhi government has also asked people who are over 65 years or people, who have co-morbidities such as heart ailment, diabetes or cancer or respiratory issues, pregnant women and children who are less than 10 years of age, to stay at home.
Among the relaxations made are allowing self-employed people such as technicians, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, safai karamcharis, domestic help, and laundry services to function.
All standalone or neighbourhood shops or those in residential complexes can open, irrespective of whether they deal in essential or non-essential services.
Print and electronic media outlets can open. Offices of IT services, call centres, data centres, warehouses, cold storage facilities and private security services can be open.
The government has allowed industrial estates where there is access control to function. Units manufacturing essential goods, whether inside the estates or outside, will be allowed to work. Also, units manufacturing IT hardware and packaging can open. In-situ construction activity which refers to workers staying at the site of work, will be allowed. All agricultural activities have been allowed. Financial sector firms, including banks and cooperative societies, can function.
Marriage functions can take place, but not with more than 50 people in attendance. In funerals, not more than 20 people will be allowed.
Spitting in public places has been banned and will invite stern action.
Even as Kejriwal announced relaxations in line with the Centre's guidelines, he said now it was time for the lockdown to be lifted because the capital was ready for it and also in view of the problems being faced by the people.
“Lockdown was essential when it was announced on March 24. Had lockdown not been imposed, our country would have been in a terrible situation. We were not prepared to deal with COVID-19 at that time. We did not have PPE kits and people did not understand what social distancing was,” Kejriwal said.
He said that after one-and-a-half months of lockdown, Delhi at least was ready to open and said it was not appropriate to place the entire city in the red zone. He said his government has proposed to the Centre that apart from the 97 containment zones in the city, the rest of Delhi can be marked green.
“People's livelihoods have been hit. Industries are shut. The entire economy has been disrupted. The government would have ideally got a revenue of Rs 3,500 crore in the month of April. But we got only Rs 300 crore. We can only pay salaries,” he said.
“To have a situation where we have zero corona cases is not possible. We have to prepare to live with corona. The government and the people and the nation will have to prepare for it. We have made adequate preparation in terms of hospitals and PPE kits,” he said.
The chief minister said that the aim of his government was to reduce the number of deaths because of COVID-19, and it was capable of doing it. He also said that the number of tests were being ramped up to deal with the spread of the virus.
