Delhi logs 1,009 new Covid cases, makes facemasks must again in public

Delhi logged 1,009 fresh Covid cases on Wednesday, a 60 per cent jump from a day ago, while one person died due to the infection, according to city health department data.

This was the maximum number of cases recorded in Delhi since February 10 when 1,104 infections were reported. A total of 17,701 tests were conducted a day ago and 5.7 per cent of them came out positive, the latest health bulletin said.

In view of a spike in cases, the Delhi government on Wednesday decided to make the wearing of masks mandatory again in public places and impose a fine of Rs 500 in case of a violation.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), which also decided not to shut schools and come up with separate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in consultation with experts for them.

The government is expected to issue an official order regarding the mandatory use of masks soon. Fine on not wearing a mask was lifted by the Delhi government on April 2 after the decline in COVID cases in the city.

Officials said authorities have been asked to keep a close watch on social gatherings and ramp up testing in the national capital. They said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is closely monitoring the situation and instructions have been issued to officials to ensure the implementation of steps to check the spread of the virus and preparations for the treatment of COVID patients.

In the DDMA meeting, emphasis was also laid on early vaccination of eligible groups as it will help keep in check the impact of the pandemic, officials said. Several participants asserted that there was no need to panic since the number of hospitalisations was low despite a rise in COVID cases, they said.

It was highlighted that the trends of hospitalisation needed to be closely monitored for the next fortnight as well as conducting genome sequencing of all positive samples, put through the RTPCR test.

It was also decided to increase the number of tests being done with the focus on people with symptoms, they said. The DDMA meeting, chaired by Baijal, was also attended by Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, and other top officials and experts.