Kejriwal extends Delhi lockdown by one more week even as COVID count drops

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Sunday that his government was extending the lockdown to curb COVID-19 by one more week.

The lockdown in Delhi was first announced on April 19 as the national capital reeled under the second wave of COVID-19. It was subsequently extended every week.

Kejriwal announced on Sunday the lockdown would remain in effect until 5am on May 24. Kejriwal noted that while COVID-19 cases were declining, the test positivity rate had yet to reach five per cent.

The move to extend the lockdown comes even as the number of new COVID-19 cases and the test positivity rate for the infection has been decreasing steadily over the past week.

On Saturday, Delhi reported 6,430 new COVID-19 cases, the second straight day that new cases remained under 10,000. However, the number of fatalities in Delhi remains relatively high.

On Saturday, a total of 337 deaths were reported. A health department official told The Indian Express on Saturday that these deaths were of people who had fallen ill 10-12 days ago.

The director of a major hospital in Delhi on Friday had attributed the decline in cases to the lockdown.0