COVID-19: Yellow alert in Delhi; School shutdown, odd-even system for non-essential shops likely

New Delhi: A yellow alert has been sounded in Delhi and some restrictions imposed under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in view of rising number of Covid cases in the city, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday.

The yellow alert entails restrictions like night curfew, closure of schools and colleges, opening of non-essential shops based on an odd even basis, halved seating capacity in Metro trains and buses among others.

The chief minister, after reviewing the Covid situation at a high level meeting, said virus cases were rising fast in Delhi but there was no need to panic as most people have mild symptoms.

The yellow alert is imposed when the Covid positivity stays above 0.5 percent for two consecutive days. The positivity rate in Delhi has been above 0.5% in past two days.

Kejriwal said it was unfortunate that people were visiting markets and malls without masks, and appealed to them to follow Covid appropriate behaviour.

He said although cases were rising in Delhi, there was no increased consumption of medical oxygen or increased demand of beds and ICU facilities which meant most people were getting treated at home.

The list of restrictions under the yellow alert will be made public later on, he said.

The total number of cases of new Omicron variant of COVID-19 recorded in the national capital has mounted to 165, according to data shared by the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday.

Amid the Omicron scare, Delhi recorded 331 fresh coronavirus cases, the highest single-day rise since June 9 and one death, on Monday, while the positivity rate mounted to 0.68 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department.

Delhi's first case of the Omicron variant – a 37-year-old man from Ranchi – was detected on December 5. He has been discharged.

Amid a jump in Omicron cases reported in Delhi, doctors have warned that people should avoid all kinds of gatherings as this is a highly transmissible variant, and follow Covid-appropriate behaviours, else the situation may worsen.