Arvind Kejriwal ready to reopen Delhi, handle COVID-19 case surge

Under the new guidelines, shops and markets can be opened with staggered timings.
A Metro train does a trial run in New Delhi on Sunday | Parveen negi
A Metro train does a trial run in New Delhi on Sunday | Parveen negi

NEW DELHI: Welcoming the Centre’s new guidelines for Lockdown 4.0, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday claimed it was on the lines of the proposal sent by his government. He also claimed that the Delhi government was prepared to deal with the possible surge in cases.

“Centre’s guidelines are largely in line with the proposal sent by the Delhi government based on suggestions of lakhs of Delhiites. We have used the lockdown period to prepare our healthcare system if corona cases increase. But it is now time to relax the restrictions to some extent,” Kejriwal tweeted.
Earlier, the AAP government said it expected “a slight increase in cases when the economy reopens” and added that Delhi was prepared to deal with it.  Kejriwal said a detailed plan to ease restrictions in the city would be announced on Monday.

With the Centre giving the states the power to delineate the red, green and orange zones, the Delhi government is unlikely to put the entire capital in the red category again, which means more economic activities may resume. However, one of the biggest demands in Delhi’s proposal, of starting metro train service, has been turned.

Under the new guidelines, shops and markets can be opened with staggered timings. Delhi had proposed opening of markets on odd-even basis, though many traders oppose this. Being the national capital, Delhi has a huge presence of migrants from across India. As per the fresh guidelines, the states and UTs have been given the responsibility to co-ordinate among themselves for movement and other arrangements.

“Broadly, the Centre’s guidelines are in right direction of opening up the economy and leaving it to states to work out the details. We have always been saying that we all will now have to learn to live with Covid-19. We used the last two month lockdown period to prepare ourselves for dealing with corona by improving necessary logistics and health infra. We do expect a slight increase in cases when the economy reopens and Delhi is prepared to deal with it,” said a Delhi government official.

More liquor shops to open in fourth phase
More liquor shops are likely to start operating during the fourth phase of lockdown as the Delhi government had allowed around 150 state-run shops to open during the third phase. There are around 850 liquor shops in Delhi.

No metro services till May 31: DMRC
Metro services and all kinds of public gatherings will remain barred in Delhi. “In light of the extension of lockdown issued by the government, Metro services will remain closed for commuters till 31st May,” the DMRC tweeted.

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