NEW DELHI: The traders of Sadar Bazar Market here on Wednesday staged a protest over the DDMA's odd-even arrangement for opening of shops which was imposed due to a surge in Covid cases in the city.
The traders' group had staged a similar protest on Tuesday as well pressing the same demands.
This time, the traders came out on the streets of Qutub Road Chowk by beating plates as a mark of protest against the odd-even scheme and wore black armbands and displayed placards saying "no odd-even" and "Delhi traders oppose odd-even".
They demanded from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to end the odd-even arrangement and also to put an end to the weekend curfew and allow the entire market to open.
Paramjit Singh Pamma, Vice Chairman of the Federation of Sadar Bazar Traders Association, said it is a matter of "great sadness that due to this decision of government, the traders have come into financial trouble.
"The traders have not been able to cope with the two lockdowns already and with this decision has broken their backs," he said.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had in December last year announced odd-even arrangement for markets after cases of Covid and its Omicron variant had started increasing.
On January 4 this year, the DDMA imposed a weekend curfew in the city.
However, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had last week said that the city might see some relaxations once daily cases go below 15,000.
Delhi reported 13,785 fresh COVID-19 cases and 35 more fatalities due to the viral disease on Wednesday, while the positivity rate climbed to 23.
86 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.
The national capital had logged 11,684 Covid cases and 38 deaths due to the disease on Tuesday, while the positivity rate had declined to 22.
47 per cent.
The city had reported 12,527 Covid cases and 24 deaths on Monday, while the positivity rate was 27.
99 per cent.
A total of 57,776 tests were conducted to detect the infection on Tuesday, up from 52,002 on Monday.
Monday's figure was higher than the 44,762 tests carried out on Sunday.
Delhi had reported 18,286 Covid cases and 28 deaths on Sunday, while the positivity rate had dropped to 27.
87 per cent from 30.
64 per cent.
On Saturday, the city had reported 20,718 Covid cases and 30 deaths due to the infection.
It saw 24,383 cases and 34 fatalities on Friday.
The national capital had reported 28,867 Covid cases last Thursday, the sharpest single-day spike here since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Delhi's previous biggest daily jump of 28,395 coronavirus cases was recorded on April 20 last year.
A total of 2,734 Covid patients are admitted to hospitals, including 908 on oxygen support, of whom 147 are on ventilator.
The case tally has climbed to 17,47,966 in Delhi, while the death toll due to the disease has gone up to 25,460.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Wednesday said COVID-19 positivity rate in the city is not low enough to lift the restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the infection and that the government will monitor the situation for three to four days.
He also said the city is likely to see around 13,000 cases on Wednesday, with a positivity rate of around 24 per cent.
"The Covid positivity rate has come down from 30 per cent to 22.5 per cent in Delhi. But it is not that low that all the curbs can be lifted suddenly. The rate should be half of it. We will monitor the situation for three to four days," Jain said when asked about some traders' protest over DDMA's odd-even arrangement for opening of shops.
Delhi had logged 28,867 COVID-19 cases last Thursday, the sharpest single-day spike since the beginning of the pandemic.
The number then declined to 24,383 on Friday, 20,718 on Saturday, 18,286 on Sunday, 12,527 on Monday, and 11,684 on Tuesday.
The positivity rate stood at 30.6 per cent on Saturday, the highest in the ongoing wave of the pandemic so far, 27.9 per cent on Sunday, 28 per cent on Monday, and 22.5 per cent on Tuesday.
The minister said daily hospital admissions have not increased for one week.
"We have prepared 37,000 Covid beds, of which only 15,600 beds have been released. Only 17 per cent of the beds are occupied, which is why we are not releasing more beds," he said.
Jain reiterated that the ongoing wave of the pandemic has peaked and is on the decline in Delhi.
"We hope that its descent is as sharp as its rise. Let us wait for a few more days," he said.
Responding to a question about low rate of testing in Delhi, the health minister said no one is being denied a Covid test and the authorities are following the guidelines issued by the Centre.
"They said high-risk contacts of Covid patients and those with symptoms should be tested. On Tuesday, they clarified that tests be conducted in some pockets in the community too, which we are doing," he said.
Delhi had been conducting 50,000 to 60,000 coronavirus tests daily for the last six months, he added.
On the Centre asking states and Union territories to ramp up testing again, Jain said, "Maybe other states are doing fewer tests, but the number of tests in Delhi is three times than in other parts of the country. We will increase the rate even further."