New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced that the state government will begin a phase-wise unlock process in the national capital from Monday. To begin with, construction activities and factories will be reopened keeping in mind the plight of daily wage workers.
This announcement comes as Delhi's lockdown period is set to end on May 31, Monday at 5 AM.
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Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that more activities will be gradually reopened based on suggestions by citizens and experts. However, he warned that restrictions will be tightened if cases rise again. Hence, he has advised people to avoid going out unless absolutely necessary.
"We have to maintain a balance wherein at one end we have to control corona and on the other, we have to allow economic activities as much as possible," CM Kejriwal said expressing concern that people may face starvation as economic activities have come to standstill due to Covid-induced lockdown.
The Delhi CM informed that this decision has been reached in the meeting with Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) as the case positivity rate in the national capital has gone down, hospital beds, and oxygen beds are now available.
"We have not won the whole battle," Arvind Kejriwal said as he stressed that the progress made in terms of improving the Covid situation with the 1-month long lockdown should not get lost, and hence, experts believe that unlock process should happen in a staggered manner.
Speaking about the Unlock plan, the Delhi Chief Minister highlighted the plight of daily wage workers who come from various states to earn their livelihood in the national capital and said that their necessities will be prioritised for resuming economic activities.
He urged the local residents to continue following the Covid guidelines so that economic activities can be further opened up.
Delhi recorded 1,491 new cases of coronavirus, pushing the cumulative case tally to 14,21,477, and 130 related deaths, a health bulletin released by the government on Thursday showed.
Significantly, the positivity rate reached 1.93 percent, culminative rate was reported to be at 7.51 percent.