Delhi Chief Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday further restricted the size of crowd at a place to 5 persons, encouraging social distancing to contain the spread of coronavirus. In his first ever digital interaction, Kejriwal also said there is no lockdown plan as of now, but it can’t be ruled out if the situation deteriorates.
“In case there is a queue, people are requested to maintain a distance of 5 metres between each other,” he said.
“At times when Delhi Metro has decided to suspend all its services, a lot of public transport such as autos and taxis will also not be running. We deliberated on the decision to suspend bus services for tomorrow. However, suspending bus services will cause a problem in case of emergencies. We have decided that 50% of the buses will not ply on the roads of Delhi tomorrow,” said the CM.
Urging senior citizens to stay indoor as they are more vulnerable to the virus which has claimed 5 deaths so far in India, Kejriwal said, “My sincere appeal to all senior citizens. Please stay indoors. You need to take special care so that you remain free from infection. I urge you to skip your morning/evening walks for the time being.”
As corona restrictions have caused terrible stress to the poor, Delhi Government will pay Rs 4000-5000 pension amount to 8.5 lakh beneficiaries by April 7.
He said that there will be 50 percent increase in ration quantity than normal entitlements will be given to 72 lakh beneficiaries; the ration will be given without any cost.”
While corona is affecting adversely daily wagers , Delhi Government has ordered that lunch and dinner will be served free to each and every person at all Delhi Government night shelters.
“As few people who are advised to quarantine themselves and staying in luxurious hotels opted self paid facilities, the Government will waive off Good and Service Tax ( GST ) to make their stay more affordable,” Kejriwal added.
Kejriwal said, “The Delhi Government is taking all possible measures to tackle Coronavirus in close coordination and cooperation with the Central Government and the people of Delhi.”
“Delhi has witnessed 26 Corona cases to date, along with one unfortunate death. Out of these, 4 cases were spread by local transmission, and 22 cases had travel history. So, the spread of the virus has not been intense until now. But, we need to take all possible precautions. We have seen how the virus has spread in Italy, Iran, and China, and we do not want that to happen in Delhi and the entire country. I know these measures are causing a hindrance in the normal lives of the people, but this is the only we can save ourselves from this.”
“If you follow all the measures and Do’s and Dont’s that have been prescribed, such as not shaking hands, regularly washing hands, social distancing, staying at home as long as you can, we will be able to save ourselves and our family from Corona,” he added.
