Battling the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Delhi recorded over 17,000 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday to become the worst-affected city in the country, leaving financial capital Mumbai far behind in the daily tally. Owing to such a massive rise, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has decided to enforce a weekend curfew in light of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases. The decision was taken following a meeting between Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal on Thursday.
The Chief Minister said the weekend curfew will come into effect from April 17 onwards.
The weekend curfew will be enforced from 10 pm on Friday evening till 6 am Monday.
People step out of their homes on weekdays for work and on weekends for recreational purposes which can be curtailed, CM Arvind Kejriwal said.
Here's a brief look at the restrictions and exemption
Following categories of individuals are however exempted from the above restriction of movement during curfew:
Officers / officials of Government of India, its Autonomous/Subordinate offices & Public Corporations and officers/officials of GNCT of Delhi/Autonomous Bodies/Corporations involved in emergency services such as Health and Family Welfare and all related medical establishments, Police, Prisons, Home Guards, Civil Defence, Fire and emergency Services, District Administration, Pay & Account Office, Electricity, Water and Sanitation Public Transport (Air/Railways/Buses) including all incidental services/activities that are essential for smooth functioning of all modes of public transport ( such as handling of cargo, ticketing, air freight station, CFS, ICD etc.), Disaster Management and related services, NIC, NCC and Municipal services, and all other essential services on production of valid I card. The uninterrupted delivery of public services shall be ensured by the concerned departments/agencies.
On production of vaild I-card, all Judicial officers/ officials of courts of Delhi, private medical personnel such as Doctors, nursing staff, paramedical, etc. and other hospital services (such as hospitals, diagnostic centres, clinics, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and other medical & health services) will be allowed to travel. Person coming from/going to Airports/Railway stations/lSBTs allowed to travel on production of valid ticket.
Officers/officials related to functioning of offices of Diplomats of various countries as well as persons holding any constitutional post on production of valid I card.
Besides, pregnant women and patients for getting medical/ health services.
There shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement / transportation of essential/non-essential goods. No separate permission / e-pass will be required for such movements.
Movement of persons related to commercial and private establishments providing following essential services/commodities shall be allowed:
i. Shops dealing with food, groceries. fruits & vegetables, dairy & milk booths, meat and fish, animal fodder, pharmaceuticals, medicines and medical equipments.
ii. Banks, Insurance offices and ATMs.
iii. Telecommunications, Internet services, Broadcasting and Cable services, IT and IT enabled services.
iv. Delivery of all essential goods including food, pharmaceuticals, medical equipments through e-commerce.
v. Petrol pumps, LPG, CNG, petroleum and gas retail and storage outlets.
vi. Power generation, transmission and distribution units and services.
vii. Cold storage and warehousing services.
viii. Private security services.
ix. Manufacturing units of essential commodities.
x. Production units or services, which require continuous process.
Persons who are going for COVID-19 vaccination
The movement of the individuals specified above in para-4(i) & 40) shall be allowed only with the possession of e-pass (in soft or hard copy), which can be obtained by applying on the website www.delhi.gov.in. The concerned District Magistrates shall be responsible for issuance of e-passes for above activities and for overall implementation of these measures in their respective jurisdiction.
All other line department officials in the specified area will work under the directions of DM/SDM concerned.
Public transport such as Delhi Metro/ public buses/ autos/ taxis shall be allowed to function within its stipulated time for the transportation of only above mentioned categories of people during weekend curfew, as per prescribed Protocols/SOPs issued by Government in this regard.
Further, during weekend curfew, movement of persons for marriage related gatherings upto 50 persons and funeral/ last rites related gatherings upto 20 persons is continued to be allowed.
All District Magistrates of Delhi & their counterpart District Deputy Commissioners of Police and all authorities concerned shall ensure strict compliance of this order and shall adequately inform and sensitize the field functionaries about these instructions for strict compliance, in letter and spirit.
All enforcement authorities to note that these restrictions fundamentally relate to movement of people, but not to that of essential goods I services.
In case any person is found violating the aforesaid instructions, the defaulting person(s) shall be proceeded against as per the provisions of section 51 to 60 of Disaster Management Act, 2005, Section 188 of IPC and other applicable laws.
SOP on preventive measures in Weekly Markets to contain spread of COVID-19
Persons above 65 years of age, persons with comorbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years are advised to stay home. The concerned local authorities to advise accordingly.
The generic measures include simple public health measures that are to be followed to reduce the risk of COVID-19. These measures need to be observed by all
Vendors/ Customers in these places at all times.
These include:
i. Physical distancing of at least 6 feet to be followed as far as feasible .
ii. Use of face covers I masks to be made mandatory.
iii. Use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (for at least 20 seconds) can be made wherever feasible.
iv. Respiratory etiquettes to be strictly followed. This involves strict practice of covering one's mouth and nose while coughing / sneezing with a tissue ./ handkerchief/flexed elbow and disposing off used issued properly.
V. Self-Monitoring of health by all and reporting any illness at the earliest to state and district helpline.
vi. Spitting shall be strictly prohibited.
vii. Installation & use of Aarogya Setu App shall be advised to all.
viii. Only asymptomatic customers, visitors shall be allowed.
ix. The face cover/ mask has to be worn at all times inside the Weekly Market
X. Large gatherings I congregations continue to remain prohibited.
In case of a suspect or confirmed case in the Weekly Markets:
a. Place the ilr person in a room or area where they are isolated from others.
b. Provide a mask/ face cover till such time he/she is examined by a doctor.
c. Immediately inform the nearest medical facility (hospital/clinic) or call the state or district helpline.
d. A risk assessment will be undertaken by the designated public health authority (district RRT/treating physician) and according further action be initiated regarding management of case, his/her contacts and need for disinfection.
e. Disinfection of the premises to be taken up if the person is found positive.
All Authorities concerned as well as vendors / customers etc shall ensure the following arrangements and protocol strictly at Weekly Markets:
For Vendors:
1. Each vendor shall be allowed to use 6'x4' area. No joining or merging of stalls will be allowed.
2. Each vendor shall wear a mask. He will also keep Hand Sanitizer ready for the buyers.
3. No plastic / polythene bags will be used below 50 micron. The bio-degradable or cloth bags should be used.
4. Only one vendor plus one helper shall be allowed on each stall i.e. not more than 2 persons shall be allowed to operate stall .
5. There will be a·tleast 6 feet distance between two stalls of weekly market and no goods shall be allowed to be kept in between the open space of two staffs.
6. There should be adequate distance between vendor and buyer in case of sale / purchase.
7. Not more than 2 buyers shall be allowed to deal at any stall at one time, that too with adequate distancing.
8. Timings of the weekly market operations shall be from 4 PM to 10 PM.
9. There should be proper marking at each stall to ensure social distancing between buyers and vendors.
(B) For buyers / Customers:
1. The buyers will be instructed by the vendor as well as by Enforcement Teams of local Authorities/ Departments to keep safe distance.
2. The buyers will be asked to use marked spaces in front of every stall.
3. Buyers should bring their own cloth/bio-degradable bags for shopping
Guidelines for selection of weekly markets for functioning in NCT of Delhi
1. Weekly Markets shall not be allowed in the containment zones
2. Weekly Markets should be at sufficient distance from the containment zones
3. Weekly Markets shall not be allowed al the places/areas where the COVID-19 cases are increasing in recent past
4. Weekly Markets shall not be allowed at the places / areas where SOP issued by Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DD~A) as well as guidelines/Nat1onal Directive issued by Govt of India cannot be implement~
5. Weekly Markets shall be selected by the Joint team of District Magistrate.
6. Weekly Markets shall not be allowed where road traffic is likely to be interrupted and/or public safety may be compromised
7. Weekly Markets shall not be allowed where large crowd/congregation take place
8. Weekly Markets shall not be allowed where total vendors are m large number and therefore not possible to ma1nta1n 6 feet distance between two stalls as prescribed in SOP issued by DDMA.
9. Weekly Markets shall not bf} allowed where vendors and/or customers do not follow the instructions prescribed ,n SOP issued by DDMA such as wearing of face cover/mask. use of hand sanitizers etc
10. In case it 1s observed by the joint team of officers (as mentioned above) that
11. Weekly Market cannot function on the fixed/regular place as per the SOP/guidelines of DDMA. then such weekly market can be allowed to function at some other nearby place/area where the SOP/guidelines of DDMA can be strictly implemented.
