Union health minister Harsh Vardhan says ‘Delhi should employ stringent measures'

NEW DELHI: While the Delhi government announced relaxation of lockdown in the city, in line with the Centre’s guidelines, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said the national capital needed to employ stringent measures to control the Covid-19 spread.

However, the Union minister qualified the statement as his “personal opinion”. “It’s not correct for me to comment on the situation in the city (Delhi) as it may be considered a political statement. However, personally, I feel that Delhi is one of the few states in the country where stringent measures are required to tackle the pandemic,” he said.

“In Lockdown 3, in a place like Delhi, I feel minimum relaxations should be allowed. While the home ministry has given detailed guidelines, each state has to take a decision considering the situation or extent of the outbreak.”


The statement followed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s announcement on Sunday that the national capital was ready to lift the lockdown. “The time has come to reopen Delhi. We will have to be ready to live with coronavirus,” Kejriwal had said.

The Delhi government has planned a phase-wise removal of lockdown conditions with strict restrictions in containment zones.

With over 4,500 Covid-19 cases, the national capital had reported the third highest numbers in the country. So far, Delhi’s recovery rate is high at over 30%. However, the city is seeing a spike in numbers.

Meanwhile, though wine shops reopened in Delhi on Monday, the police had to use force to ensure people followed social distancing norms. Later, the shops were forced to close due to the crowd.