Despite rising COVID-19 cases, Gujarat and Delhi governments have ruled out a complete lockdown in the states, with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying “some restrictions” will be put in place in the national capital instead.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, too, said his government was not in favour of imposing a lockdown in the state considering its impact on the poor. However, he welcomed the voluntary imposition of lockdowns at a local level by villages or market associations in cities.
"The state government is not willing to impose a lockdown in the state considering the problems faced by the poor people. We have already imposed a curfew for 10 hours in a day to restrict the unnecessary movement of people," Rupani said when asked if the government was thinking of clamping a lockdown in view of the rising cases.
"If any market association imposes a lockdown at a local level or if any village imposes such a measure, it is welcome to do so," the chief minister said.
Amid the upswing in cases, many villages, housing societies and market organisations in Gujarat have declared lockdowns in their respective areas.
With the latest addition of 4,541 fresh COVID-19 cases, the tally of cases in Gujarat reached 3,37,015 on Friday, as per the state health department.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal, while interacting with reporters after visiting the LNJP Hospital—the mainstay of Delhi's fight against COVID-19—to review its preparedness, was quoted as saying, “Lockdown is not an option, however, we will be putting some restrictions in place to contain the spread of the virus. We will release the restrictions in the coming few days. COVID centres are being rebuilt and some have already started functioning."
Kejriwal said the administration and hospitals are working to contain the fourth wave of the pandemic in the city.
"We are currently in a comfortable position with reference to beds and ventilators. We will ensure that the people of Delhi stay safe, to the best of our abilities," he added.
Delhi recorded 8,521 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the highest single-day surge since November 11 last year, while 39 more people died due to the coronavirus infection, taking the death toll to 11,196. The highest single-day spike in Delhi till date—8,593 cases—was reported on November 11 in 2020, while on November 19, the city had recorded 131 COVID-19 deaths, the highest single-day fatality count till date.
Asked about the vaccination campaign and preparation of the government in the face of rising cases, Kejriwal said, "I have written a letter to the prime minister (Narendra Modi), in which I have said that if adequate doses of the vaccination are made available to us; if we are given permission to increase the number of vaccination centres and if the age limit is removed then within 2-3 months we can vaccinate the entire state".
"I cannot talk about the rest of the country, but according to Delhi government's level of preparation, if these three pre-conditions are met, we can assure you that all residents of Delhi will be vaccinated within 2-3 months," Kejriwal asserted.
