Delhi govt announces new restrictions to control Omicron spread

The Delhi government has imposed a weekend curfew in the city after a meeting held by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) this morning, to control the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The government has also announced that all government offices, barring those performing essential services, will go into the work from home (WFH) or online mode. Private offices have been told to work at 50 per cent capacity with immediate effect.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia made the announcements following the DDMA meeting. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced earlier in the morning that he had tested positive for the virus.

The state government has reversed a previous order restricting occupancy in public transport to 50 per cent. This was turning counterproductive as it was only resulting in crowding at bus stops and outside metro stations.

Sisodia said that public transport would function at 100 per cent capacity, and that the mask rule was to be followed strictly. “Mask is the weapon,” he said.

Case positivity was over 6 per cent in the city yesterday, and hospitalisations were showing a slow but rising trend. According to Sisodia, over the last 10 days, 11,000 positive cases were reported.

With 4,099 cases positive on Monday, the speed at which the infection is doubling is evident. The city even recorded one death yesterday.

The DDMA follows a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), according to which restrictions kick in at various stages of rising cases. Although the case positivity is high enough to qualify a full amber alert, most restrictions in the city are still under the yellow alert. This is because hospital occupancy is still manageable.

Of the 9,029 hospital beds available for COVID care, only 420 are occupied. Of the hospitalised, 124 need oxygen and seven are on ventilators.

The concern, however, is that with rising cases, there will soon be a situation when the health infrastructure gets strained as health care workers themselves get infected. The booster shots for health care workers and senior citizens are yet to roll out.

On Monday, vaccination for children in the 15-18 age group began, in addition to the ongoing vaccination programme for other groups.

The All India Institute for Medical Sciences has already recalled its faculty, cancelling the remainder of the winter vacation from January 5 to 10 in view of the looming health emergency.

The new set of restrictions might help curb the spread of a new variant that is supposed to be 30 times more transmissible than the Delta variant. However, the efficacy of only a weekend lockdown is questionable.

Sisodia also did not elaborate on what the arrangements will be for travelling by auto or private cabs. The earlier restriction was two passengers. This was an inconvenience if a family of four needed to travel, especially on return from outstation.