The national capital has witnessed more than 360 new Covid cases, on an average per day, since it implemented relaxations in the lockdown on May 4, or a rate double of the average in the second edition of the coronavirus lockdown, shows state Health Department data.
Since the third edition of the lockdown was implemented with a number of relaxations from May 4, the cases reported per day had been more than 300 except two days May 5 and 9, when they were 206 and 224, respectively. The city had 4,549 cases on May 3 and the number stood at 8,895 on Friday.
In the first edition of the lockdown from March 25 till April 14, the average cases reported per day were less than 75, while in the subsequent edition, the average cases reported per day more than doubled to about 160 between April 15 and May 3. The doubling rate of the cases also increased during the lockdown 3.0. The city had 2,003 cases on April 19, which crossed 4,000 in 14 days on May 2. Meanwhile, the case reached 8,000 on May 14 in only 13 days.
Also, it is important to note that the Covid cases in the city have jumped by 5,380 in the last 15 days between May 1 and 15, while the toll has increased by 64, as per the data provided by the Delhi Health Department. At least 2,424 people have recovered in the same period. It is also interesting to note that while the number of containment zones in the city dropped from 100 on April 28 to 78 on Friday, the positive COVID-19 cases jumped to 8,895 from 3,314 during the same period.
As of Friday morning, the positive cases in Delhi stood at 8,895 with 5,254 active cases. The toll has mounted to 123 and total 3,518 people have recovered from the infection.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday said the new cases in Delhi are coming from the containment zones as well as from outside. He also said that people will have to learn to live with CovidD-19. The lockdown announced on March 24 was to end on April 14. It was extended to May 3 and later to May 17. The Centre is now having discussions on the exit strategy post May 17.
Till May 3, the city has been in a complete lockdown with only essential service allowed. From May 4 the third edition of the lockdown the Centre and city government has allowed a number of activities, including opening up of non-essential shops and private offices. On Thursday, the city government suggested the Central government to open public transport and markets with social distancing post May 17.
The Delhi government has been pushing for opening up economic activities in the city, saying due to the lockdown, the national capital has reported a revenue loss of about Rs 3,200 crore in April as compared to the previous year.
( With inputs from IANS )