Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday, 18 November has approved the Delhi government’s proposal to allow only 50 guests to attend a wedding, instead of the earlier limit of 200.
“Lt governor has given his approval. This was essential as larger the crowd at a place, the more harmful it is. Lockdown won't be imposed but people have to be stopped from gathering in large numbers,” news agency ANI quoted Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia as saying.
The decision comes after a recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the national capital.
Deputy CM Sisodia assured the shopkeepers that the Delhi government will not impose a lockdown, but if needed, regulations might be increased in some market places, reported ANI.
Meanwhile, the Centre on Sunday, 15 November formed 10 “multi-disciplinary teams” to visit more than 100 private hospitals in Delhi for assessing their bed utilisation and testing capacities.
The MHA has directed the multidisciplinary team to look into whether the hospitals are following the discharge protocols of the health ministry and whether patients were being referred to other hospitals without ascertaining the availability of beds in the said hospital, Hindustan Times reported.
The MHA stated that 45 doctors and 160 paramedics from CAPFs have reached Delhi for deployment at DRDO hospital near Delhi airport and at a COVID care centre at Chhatarpur.
In other measures, the MHA also stated that testing will be increased. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will help the government of NCT of Delhi in deploying 10 mobile testing labs for COVID with a total capacity of 20,000 tests in a phased manner which will begin next week.
The ministry stated that the government is aiming to reach the testing level of 60,000 RT-PCR tests per day by November end. Five RT-PCR labs including one at AIIMS, Delhi have already started functioning round the clock, the MHA statement mentioned.
In the statement, the ministry added that the DRDO will add 250 ICU beds to its already existing 250 ICU beds. It will also create 35 BIPAP beds in the next three to four days at its COVID hospital near Delhi airport.
India on Wednesday reported 38,617 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally in the country to 89,12,907. The death toll increased by 474 to 1,30,993.
The number of coronavirus cases in Delhi has shown a sharp upward spike in the last few days, reaching a high of 8,593 on 11 November.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)