New Delhi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that his government does not intend to impose lockdown in the city despite rising COVID-19 cases.

"We do not want to impose any lockdown in the city. There will not be lockdown if you follow COVID appropriate behaviour. We do not intend to impose lockdown at the moment. We want to impose the least restrictions so that the people can earn their livelihood," Kejriwal said at a press conference after recovering from COVID-19.

He also said that in the DDMA meeting scheduled to be held on Monday, the Government will review the current situation with the experts.

"We have a meeting of DDMA tomorrow. We will review the current situation with the experts on what needs to be done further. We are also getting the support of the Centre," he said.

He insisted that there is no need to panic and cited comparative statistics with the second wave in the country.

"In the second wave in April-May, 2021, nearly 20,000 cases were reported in Delhi on May 7, 2021. 341 deaths were reported then, but yesterday when the city reported the same number of cases, only 7 deaths were reported. Almost 20,000 beds were occupied then, but only 1,500 beds are occupied in Delhi now," he said.

"So the people are not having the need to hospitalise themselves this time. Lesser number of deaths are being reported too. I have presented this data so that you understand that there is no need to panic. There is a need to be responsible," Kejriwal added.

The CM said that the national capital is expected to report 22,000 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

Delhi reported 20,181 new COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours, the highest since May 5 last year, said the State Health Department on Saturday. The city has also reported 513 cases of Omicron variant so far.

"Yesterday, nearly 20,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi, today, it is expected to rise to 22,000 cases. The cases are rising daily which is a matter of concern. But there is no need to panic."

Meanwhile, India reported 1,59,632 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the daily positivity rate in the country to 10.21 per cent, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.

According to the Health Ministry, a total of 3,623 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus have been reported in India so far. The number of recovered patients from the variant rises to 1,409.

Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of Omicron cases (1,009), followed by Delhi (513) and Karnataka (441).