Indian capital New Delhi extends lockdown by a week as Covid cases rise

Indian capital New Delhi extended lockdown in the city by a week on Saturday, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Coronavirus cases in the country continue to shoot up with over 400,000 fresh cases registered in the last 24 hours - the highest ever numbers for the country and the world so far.

"Lockdown in Delhi is being extended by one week," Arvind Kejriwal said on Twitter. The current lockdown was set to expire in the city on Monday but the cases are currently rising in the city which is home to over 20 million residents.

On Saturday, India reported 401,993 new cases of COVID-19 from the last 24 hours, marking the highest daily count for the country as well as the world. For the last ten days, the country has reported over 300,000 fresh cases everyday.

Also read: Coronavirus mutations that could 'evade immune response' flagged by Indian scientists: Report

COVID-19 deaths jumped by 3,523 over the last 23 hours, taking the total death toll in the country to 211,853, according to the data by the Indian Health Ministry.

On Friday, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal urged people to not crowd at vaccination centres, while promising that more vaccines are set to arrive in the city "tomorrow or the day after".

Also read: COVID-19: First lot of Russian vaccine Sputnik V arrives in Hyderabad

On Saturday, a group of scientific advisers working for the Indian government reportedly told authorities that minor mutations have been reported in many samples of coronavirus. A leader of the group told Reuters that these mutations could “possible evade immune response” and would require further enquiry.

Even then, the group added that though mutations are being flagged by the authorities, there currently exists no reason to believe these could be dangerous or were expanding.

(With inputs from agencies)