Delhi, UP extend lockdown till May 17; Metro to stay suspended in capital

Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has decided to extend the ongoing lockdown in the national capital, New Delhi, by another week.

The lockdown will now stay in place till May 17. In addition to all existing restrictions, the Delhi government has also decided to suspend metro services during this period.

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Thanking the locals for their support, he reported that the national capital has seen a decrease in the number of daily infections, and the positivity rate has decreased to 23 per cent from 35 per cent. However, he also urged people to keep following the restrictions and warned that this is not the time to give up one’s guard.

Delhi has been in a city-wide lockdown since April 20, as the city faced an alarming increase in coronavirus infections and an oxygen crisis. Talking about the same, Kejriwal also added that the oxygen supply has increased and improved significantly in the past few days.

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He also urged locals to get vaccinated as soon as possible, although he also added that there is a lack of adequate vaccine stock.

In addition to Delhi, the state of Uttar Pradesh has also announced an extension of a state-wide lockdown till May 17. The decision comes a day after the state recorded 26,847 new infections and 298 deaths.

Meanwhile, India recorded 4,03,738 fresh COVID-19 cases in a day, which pushed the tally to 2,22,96,414, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Sunday. The death toll climbed to 2,42,362 with 4,092 daily deaths, the data updated at 8 am showed.