Omicron Scare: What Health Minister Satyendar Jain Said On Possibility Of Lockdown In Delhi

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the government was focusing on 'testing, tracing and isolation of passengers' coming from foreign countries.

The Delhi government is closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation arisen out of the Omicron variant, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said (File)

New Delhi: Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain ruled out the possibility of a lockdown in the national capital while saying that the government was focusing on "testing, tracing and isolation of passengers" coming from foreign countries, especially the countries affected by the Omicron variant.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Satyendar Jain said, "There is no possibility of lockdown at the moment. We have put in place a graded response action plan and it will be implemented as and when the cases and positivity rate rise."

Jain said masks were the only shield to protect against any variant of COVID-19. "More than 93.9% of people in Delhi have been partially vaccinated and more than 61.3% have been fully vaccinated. However, those who have been vaccinated also need to exercise caution," Jain said.

At the same time, he demanded that the Central Government ban flights from countries affected by the Omicron variant. So far, only one person has been confirmed to have been infected with the Omicron Covid variant.

"A total of 27 people have been admitted to LNJP Hospital so far, out of which 17 people have tested positive. One person has tested positive for Omicron Variant and the rest are under investigation now. All patients are in hospital and recovering well. There are many who have no symptoms of COVID-19," Jain said.

In the last five months, positivity rate has hovered much below 0.50 per cent and daily cases have stood in the range of 30-60 or so, he told reporters.

According to the graded response system, when the positivity rate will reach to 0.50 per cent, that is, out of 1,000 people tested, five are positive, then the first level of this system will be implemented, the Delhi Health Minister said.

The second level will be implemented when we will reach to a positivity rate of 1 per cent, and the third level will be implemented at a positivity rate of 2 per cent, and the last stage or the 'red level' will be initiated when the positivity rate reaches 5 per cent, Jain said.

"Last time, the 'red level' response was implemented when we had reached a positivity rate of about 14-15 per cent. However, at present the cases of coronavirus in Delhi are much below 0.5 per cent, so no lockdown will be imposed right now," he said.