Amid rise in COVID-19 cases in Delhi, CM Kejriwal rules out re-imposition of lockdown

On Monday, June 15, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal clarified that lockdown would not be re-imposed in the national capital. He was reacting to the rumours about the possibility of another lockdown amid the rising number of novel coronavirus cases in Delhi. The Ministry of Home Affairs on May 30 had announced that the lockdown shall continue only in the containment zones across the country.

It also issued guidelines for the phased reopening of prohibited activities outside the containment zones. So far, Delhi has implemented all relaxations permitted by the MHA. With 2,224 new novel coronavirus cases reported on June 14, the national capital's COVID-19 tally surged to 41,182. 15,823 patients have been discharged while 1327 casualties have been reported. 

Read: Delhi Govt Panel Recommends Increasing Mortuary Capacity Anticipating Spike In COVID Cases

COVID-19 testing to be increased

After Kejriwal met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on June 14, the latter unveiled a series of measures to ameliorate the COVID-19 situation in Delhi. This includes tripling the number of COVID-19 tests within 6 days, testing at every polling station in containment zones and a comprehensive house-to-house health survey in hotspots for contact tracing. Moreover, Shah revealed that the Centre would provide Delhi with 500 train coaches to add 8000 beds for novel coronavirus patients. Also, a committee is expected to submit its report on reducing the cost of COVID-19 treatment soon.

All-party meeting held

Earlier in the day, Shah chaired an all-party meeting regarding the management of the COVID-19 situation in Delhi. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Delhi BJP chief Adesh Kumar Gupta informed that the AAP government would start conducting 18,000 tests daily by June 20. He stated that BJP's demand of 50% charges on testing to be waived off had been accepted by the Union Home Minister. He added that Shah has constituted a committee to examine the possibility of price capping at private hospitals. 

Meanwhile, Delhi Congress president Anil Chaudhary accused the Kejriwal government of misleading the people about the health facilities. According to him, Shah assured that every individual would have a right to COVID-19 testing under a new testing policy. He also lamented that the Delhi government had failed to provide the promised compensation of Rs.1 crore to the kin of deceased COVID warriors.

Read: HC Seeks Delhi Govt Reply On Ganga Ram Hospital's Plea For Quashing FIR Over COVID-19 Norms

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