NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2021) The New Delhi government has decided to introduce a curfew on weekends as India's capital city struggles to halt a flare-up in COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday.
India has been witnessing a spike in the daily infection rate for over a month, resulting in the number of patients jumping from about 135,000 to over 1.4 million. On Thursday, the country registered 200,739 new infections � the largest daily increase since the start of the outbreak � with the majority of them registered in New Delhi
"I had a meeting with ... other officials. We decided to impose a weekend curfew in Delhi. This happens because people usually go to work on weekdays and have fun on weekends. Therefore, to break the chain of growing COVID-19 cases, we are imposing a weekend curfew," Kejriwal said in a video address.
From Friday evening to Monday morning, gyms, shopping centers and beauty salons will be closed, while cinemas will be allowed to work if their occupancy does not exceed 30 percent of the seats available. Only essential services will be exempted from the weekend curfew.
At the same time, other coronavirus-related restrictions will continue to operate, including a nighttime curfew set to remain in force until April 30.
