India News | Weekend Curfew, Odd-even System of Opening Shops Lifted in Delhi: DDMA

New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Thursday ordered lifting of weekend curfew and the odd-even system of opening non-essential shops in the city, besides allowing restaurants, bars, cinema halls and multiplexes to reopen with 50 per cent capacity, given the improving Covid situation.

These decisions were made at a DDMA meeting headed by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. A final call to reopen schools will be taken in the next meeting, officials said.

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Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his ministers, top officers, and health experts also participated in the meeting.

According to a DDMA order, government offices will be allowed to reopen with presence of 100 per cent Grade 1 Level officers and 50 per cent other staff in attendance.

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Wedding venues have been allowed to have guests 50 per cent of their capacity but not exceeding 200 in attendance. Till now, only 20 people were allowed to attend wedding ceremonies at home.

Funeral gatherings can now have 100 people in attendance, said the order. Earlier the number was limited to 20 people.

The DDMA in its order reversed most of the restrictions that were imposed earlier this month due to rise in number of cases. However, restrictions on opening gyms and spas will continue.

The order clarified that night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am imposed on weekdays will continue.

The restaurants will now open between 8 am to 10 pm, while bars will be permitted to operate from 12 noon to 10 pm. The non-essential shops in markets and malls will be allowed to open from 10 am to 8 pm.

The DDMA meeting also decided to strictly enforce and enhance Covid-appropriate behaviour and other guidelines to check the rise in cases, officials added.

Following the meeting, Baijal tweeted that after detailed discussions with experts, keeping in view the decline in cases, it was decided to gradually ease restrictions while ensuring adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour.

"It was agreed to revoke weekend curfew and to open markets without the odd-even rule. It was also decided to open all government offices with 100 per cent strength up to Grade 1 level.

"Restaurants, bars and cinema halls/theatres to operate up to 50 per cent capacity," he said in a tweet.

The LG also advised the Health Department to enhance vaccination coverage with a special focus on vulnerable sections and also to undertake necessary epidemiological analysis of hospitalised patients

Delhi on Thursday logged 4,291 fresh COVID-19 cases as compared to 7,498 cases reported a day earlier. The positivity rate dropped marginally to 9.56 per cent from 10.59 per cent on Wednesday.

The number of daily cases in Delhi has been on the decline after touching a high of 28,867 on January 13. The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemic.

It took just 10 days for daily cases to drop below the 10,000-mark.

Sisodia had on Wednesday met a delegation of parents of children and agreed with their demand for reopening schools. He had said the schools were closed when it was unsafe for children to go there but "excessive caution" was harming them now.

The Delhi government had last Friday proposed lifting the weekend curfew and ending the odd-even scheme for opening shops but the LG suggested maintaining the status quo on the restrictions till the situation improved further.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)