Daily Covid-19 cases shoot past 500-mark

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Health Minister Satyendar Jain have maintained that the uptick in cases is not a cause for panic since the number of people admitted to hospitals is still low.

As per Sunday’s bulletin, out of the 9,735 hospital beds set aside for Covid patients, only 66 were occupied.

Of these 66, 29 were occupied by persons suspected to have Covid and 37 by those who are confirmed to have contracted the viral disease. While no patient is on ventilator support, nine are in the ICU and 10 are on oxygen support.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority will hold a meeting this week to discuss the spread of the disease and measures to control it.

According to senior health department officials, on the agenda will be the proposal to bring back fines for not wearing masks, which had been lifted at the beginning of the month. The fine had earlier been reduced from Rs 2,000 to Rs 500.

“There have been discussions on bringing back fines as people have stopped wearing masks now that there is no fear of getting challaned. The aim of the government was not to have people remove the masks completely, but embrace it as usual practice without the fear of prosecution. That has not happened and it seems like the uptick in cases is directly linked to this behaviour,” an official said.

Another officer, however, said the government might not be too keen on bringing back fines and may, instead, ask establishments like malls, cinema halls, and other closed public spaces to make them mandatory for entry.