Malls, markets, restaurants, pubs, and metro services will shut in Delhi if test positivity rate remains over 2% two days in a row, while partial restrictions such as odd-even in markets will set in if the rate touches 0.5%, measures that are part of the Delhi government's colour-coded response plan to tackle any future surge in Covid cases which was approved Friday. While schools, colleges, and coaching institutes are already shut currently, even if they are permitted to open in the near future, a yellow alert will once again close all such educational facilities. The plan enlists separate sets of measures based on positivity rate, active cases and hospitalizations, classifying them under Yellow, Amber, Orange and Red alerts. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) approved the plan in a meeting attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Lt Governor Anil Baijal and other senior officials and public health experts. According to the plan, with an increase in the level of alerts, more and more sectors will come under the ambit of restrictions. While red is the highest level of alert, most economic and social activities and public transport facilities will come to a halt with the announcement of an orange alert itself. The authorities will enforce night curfew in the case of an Yellow alert, a weekend curfew will be imposed when the level of alert is raised to Orange, while there will be a complete ban public movement with the imposition of total curfew when the alert level rises to red. In the case of people entering Delhi from other states, it will be mandatory to establish that one is fully vaccinated, or a negative RT-PCR report not older than three days will have to be produced when the city is under Red alert and the incoming travellers are from states with positivity rate over 5%. Those coming from states where a new strain of Covid has been found will also have to produce vaccination or negative RT-PCR reports. Yellow: This alert will go out if positivity rate remains over 0.5% for two consecutive days, or cumulative new positive cases (for a duration of one week) touch 1,500 cases, or average occupancy of oxygen beds in hospitals remains 500 for a week. Restrictions: Shops in markets and malls dealing with non-essential goods and services will be allowed to open as per the odd-even formula between 10 am to 8 pm, while one weekly market will be allowed per municipal zone at half the capacity of vendors. Restaurants will operate at 50 per cent capacity between 8 am - 10 pm, bars will open between 12-10 pm also at 50 per cent capacity. Cinemas, banquet halls, auditoriums, spas, gyms and entertainment parks will remain shut. Delhi Metro and buses will be allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity. Delhi government offices will call 100% grade I officers, while private firms will be allowed to call 50% staff between 9 am to 5 pm. Fully allowed: Public parks, gardens, construction activities and industrial establishments, e-commerce, barber shops, saloons, beauty parlours. Amber: The city will enter the next phase of restrictions if test positivity rate remains over 1% for two consecutive days, or 3,500 new cases in a week, or average oxygen bed occupancy remaining over 700 over the course of a week. Restrictions: Apart from the restrictions listed under yellow, restaurants and bars will close, but home delivery and takeaway will be permitted. Timings of shops in markets and malls will be from 10 am to 6 pm. Public parks and gardens will close, along with barber shops, salons, and beauty parlours. Metro will be allowed at 33 per cent capacity, while buses will have to adhere to the 50 per cent cap. Fully allowed: Construction activities and manufacturing units will be allowed. E-commerce will have no restrictions either. Orange: Stricter restrictions under the orange alert will kick if test positivity remains over 2% for two straight days. It will also be sounded if the city records 9,000 cases over a week’s time or the average occupancy of oxygen hospital beds remains 1,000 for seven consecutive days. Restrictions: The Delhi Metro, malls and markets will close, except shops dealing with essential goods such as groceries, milk booths, chemists. Buses will be permitted to operate with 50% seating capacity only with passengers engaged in essential activities. Orange alert will also bring construction activities to a halt. Only those sites offering accommodation facilities to labourers will be allowed. For factories, only those producing essential commodities will be allowed if workers can live on site. E-commerce will be allowed only in case of essential items like medicines or health equipment. Delhi government offices will be allowed to open, but private offices, except those falling under exempted categories, will shut. Red: If the test positivity rate breaches 5% two days in a row, or the city records 16,000 news cases in a week. It will also kick in if average occupancy of oxygen beds in hospitals remains 3,000 or above over a week. Restrictions: The city will go under a lockdown in the case of orange alert itself. The additional restriction will mainly be on public movement of people and vehicles as a total curfew will be announced. Marriages and funeral-related gatherings: 20 persons each will be allowed under yellow and amber alerts. In the case of orange and red alerts, 15 persons each will be allowed to attend the ceremonies. Some other sectors such as sports complexes, stadiums (except national/international sports events), social/entertainment/religious/political/festival-related gatherings, hotels and lodges, gyms and yoga institutes, entertainment parks will shut down with the sounding of a Yellow alert itself.
