After Maharashtra, Union Territory (UT) Delhi is also instituting night curfew. The decision to impose a strict night curfew was taken by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Delhi Government, in the wake of the increasing cases of the Novel Coronavirus.
The imposed curfew was announced by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal on the 6th of April. The curfew would start at 10:00 P.M., and would be till 5:00 A.M., everyday until the 30th of April.
During night curfew hours, traffic movement would not be stopped and those going for vaccinations would be allowed with an e-pass. In addition, essential services and retailers who need to travel after hours for ration, grocery stocks, vegetables, milk and medicines would be allowed with similar passes. Persons coming from/going to Airports/Railway stations/lSBTs are allowed to travel on the production of a valid ticket.
Journalists of the print and electronic media would also be given a pass for reporting and roaming for purpose during the curfew. Movement of private doctors, nurses and other medical staff would also be allowed. Medical exceptions for pregnant women and those needing treatment would be there during the night curfew.
Recently, Arvind Kejriwal denied complete lockdown in Delhi and said, “As per the current situation, we are not considering imposing a lockdown. We are closely monitoring the situation and such a decision will only be taken after due public consultation.” If anyone is found violating any of the guidelines, the Delhi Police are authorised to charge the individual under the provision of Section 51 to Section 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC.) The punishment under the aforementioned section include hefty fine and imprisonment for two years.
Meanwhile, after Maharashtra, Delhi’s COVID-19 cases also showed a rise in cases. On Monday, the 5th of April, Delhi recorded 3,548 fresh cases and 15 deaths, highest in 2021.
With this, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Punjab are already having night curfews to curb the spread of the virus. In the past few days, the cases are increasing rapidly. India on the 5th of April, reported 1 lakh cases, of which majority (50%) cases were from Maharashtra.
The other states like Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are also reporting a hike in COVID-19 cases. The Central Government is also trying to provide facilities for COVID-19 vaccination drive. Close to 7.5 core people got vaccinated till the 5th of April.
Stay tuned for further updates.
