Delhi will undergo weekend lockdown from January 8 till further orders in view of rising COVID cases. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday appealed to the residents to stay at home. He stated — Leave houses only in case of emergency or in need of essential services. Except for essential services, all government officials/employees will work from home. Private offices will work at a maximum of 50 percent capacity. DTC buses and Delhi Metro will run on full capacity, but no person shall be allowed to enter or travel in the bus or metro without a mask.
Manish Sisodia further said that on the basis of the experiences so far, experts believe that this variant of COVID is not fatal and the Delhi government is fully prepared to fight it. Appealing to the people, he said that residents do not need to panic; please wear a mask in public and follow all COVID protocols.
In view of the increasing COVID cases in Delhi, three important decisions have been taken in the meeting with DDMA today —
1. *Weekend Curfew* — Along with night curfew, total curfew in Delhi will be implemented on Saturday and Sunday.
2. *Work from Home for Govt Employees* — All government offices will be completely closed except essential services like hospitals etc. Rest of the employees will work from home.
3. *50% capacity in private offices* — Private offices will run with no more than 50% staff capacity.
4. *100% occupancy in metro-buses* Metro and buses will run with full capacity in Delhi to control the crowd and prevent the metro stations and bus stands from becoming super spreaders of COVID.
The Deputy Chief Minister said that the number of COVID cases, especially of Omicron, are increasing in Delhi and the situation is worrying. We got to learn many things from the past two waves and this has also helped us learn from the international trend that Omicron has not been very destructive till now. But still we need to be prepared and take this situation seriously. At present Delhi has reported about 11,000 cases. Of which, only 350 people are hospitalized and only 124 patients are on oxygen beds. There are 7 people who are on ventilators as of now.
Manish Sisodia said that experts believe that the symptoms of Omicron are very mild and the infected people are recovering very quickly. But it is important to stay away from it, so everyone should wear a mask, when out in public. According to experts, home-isolation is the most effective way to recover from the infection. He appealed that infected people should opt for hospitals only in case of decreasing oxygen levels.
The Deputy Chief Minister said that the government is fully prepared to fight any COVID situation. There is no need to panic, people should wear masks and follow all the protocols to stay safe.
