Welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to extend the nationwide lockdown till May 3, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed to migrant workers on Tuesday to stay put and not believe rumours that Inter-State buses are available to ferry them beyond State borders.
Addressing an online briefing, Mr. Kejriwal urged people to strictly follow all precautionary measures and guidelines.
He also termed it a matter of concern that COVID-19 cases were increasing in the Capital and expressed disappointment over reports of certain elements trying to create a divide between different communities. He also said that he would visit some COVID-19 containment zones on Wednesday to take stock of the situation.
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“Today, the PM extended the lockdown till May 3, which I think was necessary. The people of Delhi have consistently supported us in the last few days by following all the rules and restrictions imposed on them during the lockdown. I believe that if we continue to strictly follow the rules for the remaining phase of the lockdown, we will be able to win our battle against COVID-19,” he said.
“Even the most developed nations...have been affected by COVID-19. Just 3-4 months ago, who could have imagined that the whole world would be impacted by the pandemic and nations would be helpless in front of it...Kindness and helpfulness have been inscribed in the Geeta, and when a person goes against these traits, he suffers at the hands of nature. He is working against nature, against God, against Allah...It saddens me that in the time of the pandemic, there are still people who are trying to create a divide between Hindus and Muslims. I observe on social media that even in times when the whole world is in distress, people are trying to create a rift between the two communities, by posting hate videos and content,” he said.
Because Delhi is the Capital, it has been burdened with infections as many passengers from other nations landed in the city in the last two months. COVID-19 entered India because of this influx of people from those nations.
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An incident related to religious gathering also caused additional burden, said the Chief Minister.
On April 9, the city saw 51 new cases, but on April 10, 183 new cases were reported, on April 11, 166 new cases were observed and on April 13, 356 new cases were reported.
Operation SHIELD
“We will overcome this. We have identified many containment zones in the last few days, which have been mapped by sealing areas that have three or more COVID-19 cases. Operation SHIELD has been implemented to contain the spread. We are using 60 high-tech sanitising machines. Around 14,000 personnel are working across Delhi to spread awareness about COVID-19,” he said.
“I know that this lockdown is causing a lot of difficulties for the common man but we can only defeat COVID-19 by following the lockdown protocol systematically... We have started the process of providing ₹5,000 compensation to para-transit drivers. I have received some complaints regarding the non-functioning of the website, which is because the portal is overloaded as many people are registering on the portal at one go. I want to appeal to all the people registering on the portal to stay patient. Every one of you will be provided the compensation,” he said.