No lockdown will be imposed in Delhi, says Arvind Kejriwal

<p style="font-weight: 400;">While India has managed to bring the active corona cases below 5 lakh, many cities have adopted such precautionary measures as curfew and Section 144 which bars the assembly of large numbers of people. However, the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi, which for the past 15 days is witnessing a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases, is in no mood to impose a lockdown.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">As Delhi adds up to 20 per cent of the total reported cases across the country, the Kejriwal government seeks a high-level meeting with the Union Home Ministry.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Meanwhile, the state government has reduced the number of guests attending wedding events from 200 to 50. The penalty for not wearing a face mask was also increased from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000. The government also announced strict surveillance at market places; if needed, certain markets will be shut for a few days. At present, though no market has been closed.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Am meeting representatives of market associations today to seek their cooperation to ensure appropriate covid behaviour at market places. Market associations can play very imp role.</p>
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArvindKejriwal/status/1329667386996244481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p style="font-weight: 400;">The national capital is in the grip of the third wave of novel coronavirus. Till now, it has reported over 510,600 Covid-19 cases and more than 8,000 deaths.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">On Friday, the Delhi High Court raps the Delhi government on the Covid-19 situation as “crematorium were overflowing” and the government took 18 days to react to the situation.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The High Court instructed the Kejriwal government to conduct more antigen tests via RT-PCR, arranging funeral/burial arrangements, and increasing the number of care homes for accommodating those who cannot home quarantine themselves.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">As the situation gets serious, many rumors of lockdown in Delhi spread. Many took to Twitter and opined that many European countries imposed the second lockdown, so it should be imposed in Delhi too.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Post the Diwali, starting Monday, Gov't of India or "Delhi + UP + Haryana" Gov't must enforce a 4 to 5 weeks full and strict lockdown in Delhi NCR to control the spread of Covid. It is a must<a href="https://twitter.com/PMOIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PMOIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@narendramodi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/myogiadityanath?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@myogiadityanath</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/mlkhattar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mlkhattar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ArvindKejriwal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ArvindKejriwal</a></p>
— Sanjay Kaul (@kaulsanjay) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaulsanjay/status/1327273600810795009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hello sir, we are in Himachal Pradesh as we all are hearing news of lockdown in rajasthan and delhi is this news are confirmed please let us know. We are going to our home on 23rd by Train in Rajdhani express. Train will remain running or not ?<a href="https://twitter.com/PiyushGoyal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PiyushGoyal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ashokgehlot51?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ashokgehlot51</a></p>— Hemant Purohit (@HemantPrht) <a href="https://twitter.com/HemantPrht/status/1330073376682106886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) repeatedly denied complete lockdown in Delhi. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and state Health Minister Satyendra Jain dismissed the rumor many times.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Yesterday, Kejriwal himself explained at the <em>Hindustan Times</em> leadership event why his government is completely against the lockdown. “Lockdown should only be imposed when the government wants some time to delay the number of increasing Covid cases. We have enough beds, ventilators, and a home care center. There is no point in imposing fresh lockdown.”</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">He also felt that the lockdown is not economically viable for certain sections of society; a sudden lockdown will worsen daily wagers' condition.</p>.