Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday cited an expert committee report and said that the novel coronavirus cases in the national capital may spike up to 12,000-14,000 during the cold and festive season ahead.
"Dr Paul expert committee had said that due to cold & festive season, cases (per day) can spike up to 12,000-14,000 but right now it's around 4000 so the situation is contained," Jain said.
"We are focused on containment, contact tracing & isolation to tackle the situation. Hence no relaxation in restrictions unless the vaccine arrives. Masks and social distancing absolutely mandatory. We will continue taking strict precautions," he said.
The Health Minister also declared that schools in Delhi won't reopen sson. "All the school shall remain closed for the time being. We had a discussion regarding the same with the Chief Minister yesterday," he said.
On Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had ruled out reopening of schools in the national capital for now. "Schools are not reopening for now," said Kejriwal. "The entire country should get the vaccine for free, it is everyone's right. We will see when the vaccine comes, what it's like and how much it costs," Kejriwal added.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 cases in Delhi have started to peak again. Delhi reported 4,116 new coronavirus cases and 36 deaths on Saturday. It was the highest single-day spike in 35 days. For the past 10 days, the national capital's death rate is at 0.94 per cent. The total death rate is 1.77 per cent, a report said.
