New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that the Delhi government was extending the ongoing Covid lockdown by one more week till 5 am on Monday (May 31), saying the decision was taken so that the progress made in the last four weeks is not lost.
He added that Delhi had on Sunday reported 1,600 new infections, down from 28,000 at the peak of this wave - which pointed to the rapid decline of the spread of the virus. However, the CM said reporting over 1,000 new infections was still a lot and if the lockdown is lifted now, the sacrifice people have had to make in the last few weeks will have been for nothing.
"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," he said, adding that if the people of Delhi maintain the lockdown restrictions as they had done over the last four weeks, the Delhi government would start unlocking the city in a phased manner. "The battle is pending and is not over yet," the CM said.
When the second wave of the pandemic hit the city, nobody knew how long it would take to subside, and no one knew whether we would prevail, the CM said.
"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," the chief minister said.
"There was one such day in April when the infection rate reached 36 per cent. In the last 24 hours, the infection rate has fallen below 2.5 per cent. This means the infection rate has reduced rapidly," CM Kejriwal said.
He added, "In the past 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.
The CM specifically lauded the role of healthcare workers in this time of crisis. He said, "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."
The CM went on to say that the Delhi government owed these Corona warriors 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 those people, doctors, and nurses who lost their lives, I personally meet the families and give them Rs 1 crore."