Friday, April 22, 2022

On Wednesday, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) declared a mask mandate in the National Capital Region as COVID-19 cases once again soared in India’s capital. According to authorities, violators will be fined INR500 for non-compliance with the mandate. Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal advised its citizens on Twitter to “ensure strict enforcement of COVID appropriate behaviour”.

On Tuesday, Delhi saw a 26% jump in COVID-19 cases as compared to the day before. Yesterday, India reported 2,067 new COVID-19 cases out of which Delhi accounted for 30% of the total cases while Delhi’s positivity rate increased from 4.42% to 5.70%. India’s daily infection tally has been on a downfall after it experienced the third wave of the pandemic since January.

Delhi, with other states including Kerala, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Mizoram have been reporting a surge in COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks. The Union Health Secretary of India, Rajesh Bhushan has warned the states against leniency and added it could negate its pandemic management efforts. It has also ordered states to monitor infection clusters and increase genome sequencing.