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Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that the lockdown in Delhi has been extended by one week, i.e., 31st May till 5 AM.
New Delhi, May 23, 2021:
He also said that if the cases continue to decline at this pace, the Delhi government will start the unlock process in a phased manner. He also appealed to the Delhiites to support the government and adhere to the lockdown this week same as before. He said that Delhi has to be completely prepared for the third wave of Corona, and it is the Delhi government’s first and foremost agenda that vaccines are administered to protect people from the third wave. He said that it is the top priority of the Delhi government to figure how to vaccinate the 2.5 crore people of Delhi within 3 months, but there is a paucity of vaccines. He said that the Delhi government is ready to spend whatever budget is required for the procurement of vaccines.
CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “ Every week, on Sunday, all of us, the people of Delhi come to decide whether the lockdown has to be extended or not and by how long. The current lockdown is going to end tomorrow at 5 AM. Today again all of us have to decide whether we should unlock or not. In the month of April, when the second wave emerged, it was an extremely dangerous wave. Delhi was the first region to witness the danger of the second wave and the lockdown was first imposed in Delhi. When the wave had emerged and the cases were rising rapidly, we did not know how long the wave would persist, nor did we know whether we would be able to gain the victory of this wave or anything else. But, within one month, we imposed a lockdown on 20th April, within approximately one month, because of the discipline of the people of Delhi and because of the hard work and struggle of the people of Delhi, today this wave of Coronavirus which was the deadliest of all till date seems to be declining. I will not say that we have won the battle. There is still a lot left to be won over. But now it seems that we are gaining control over the situation.”
He said, “There was one such day in April when the infection rate reached 36%, that is, if we tested 100 people then 36 out of them were testing positive. In the last 24 hours, the infection rate has fallen below 2.5%, that is, if we are testing 100 people then 2.5 out of them test positive whereas 97.5 people are found to be fine. This means the infection rate has reduced rapidly. In April, there was one such day when 28,000 cases were recorded in a single day. In the past 24 hours, 1600 cases have been recorded in Delhi. The levels have come down from 28,000 to 1600. So the speed of the Coronavirus has declined rapidly in Delhi.”
He added, “ In the past 1 month, a lot of problems were faced. We fought these problems together. The 2.5 crore people of Delhi, fought together like a family. The shortage of oxygen was especially a major challenge that was faced. But everyone, the people of Delhi, the Central Government, the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, all of them came together and the problem of Oxygen was resolved. Now there is a problem regarding vaccines, we are facing a shortage of vaccines. But I hope that the way we have solved the biggest of the problems, together we will be able to solve the problem of the shortage of vaccines too. I fully believe that we will tackle this shortage of vaccines together.”
CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “During this time, our doctors and nurses have not slept for days together, they have not been to their homes for so many days. They have worked extraordinarily well. Some of the doctors and nurses also lost their lives. I salute their sacrifice on the behalf of the people of Delhi. We owe it to them. To support their families, the Delhi Government will provide Rs 1 crore. As you would have been witnessing, every day I visit someone’s house, especially of those people, doctors, and nurses who lost their lives, I personally meet the families and give them Rs 1 crore.
He said, “The battle is pending and is not over yet. Even now more than 1000 cases are emerging. So in the past 24 hours, I asked a lot of people as to what should be done. Whatever decision is to be taken, will be taken collectively by the people of Delhi. A general opinion is that the lockdown should be extended for another week. If we are to lift the lockdown right now then whatever we have gained after a struggle, hard work, and sacrifice of 1 month might be lost. So, it is a general opinion that the lockdown should be extended by 1 more week. Therefore the Delhi government has decided that the lockdown will be extended by one week. The lockdown will be extended till the next Monday, 31st May at 5 AM. It is my appeal and request that the way you have supported till date, the way you have continued to adhere to the lockdown, maintaining strict discipline and if you continue to maintain this in the future too and keep following the coronavirus protocols, if the cases continue to decline at the same speed in the next week, then we will start the unlock process from 31st May. It won’t be wise to immediately unlock so we will start unlocking certain processes from 31st May. But right now, as per everyone’s response, the opinion of the people of Delhi, we are going to increase the lockdown by one week.“
CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal said, “Right now it is our top priority to figure out as to how to vaccinate the 2.5 crore people of Delhi. We have made all the arrangements in Delhi such that we can vaccinate all the people of Delhi within 3 months. But there is a paucity of vaccines all over the country. It is being said that a third wave will emerge. We have to be completely prepared for the third wave. It is our first and foremost agenda that vaccines are administered. If the vaccines are administered then probably the third wave might not emerge. If all are vaccinated then probably, we can be protected from the third wave. So on one hand we are making preparations for vaccinating everyone as soon as possible, trying that maximum vaccines can be administered by talking to everyone, the central government, the companies, the foreign companies, I myself am talking to them.”
He said, “It does not matter at what cost they are giving the vaccines to us, we are willing to spend from the budget of the Delhi government. We should get the vaccines for the people of Delhi by every possible means. So on one hand we are preparing for this while on the other hand by God’s grace if there is a third wave then we are making all the arrangements for that too, how many beds will be needed, how many ICU beds will be needed, how much oxygen would be needed, if there is a need to buy an oxygen tanker or not, whether there is a need to create an oxygen storage tank, all of these preparations are simultaneously being done. I pray to God that a third wave does not emerge and I pray to God that everyone stays happy, peace and healthy. ”
