Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal government has imposed night curfew in Delhi amid a surge in Covid-19 cases. The restrictions will remain in place for seven hours (10 PM to 5 AM) daily, starting today, news agency ANI reported while quoting the Delhi government. Essential services and emergency movement of vehicles, however, will be allowed.

“Night curfew imposed in Delhi from 10 PM to 5 AM with immediate effect till 30th April, in the wake of COVID19 situation,” the Delhi government said in a statement.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Friday said that Delhi was undergoing the fourth wave of COVID-19 but a lockdown was not being considered yet.

The last time night curfew was imposed in Delhi was on December 31 and January 1.

As per the Delhi government health bulletin on Monday, a total of 3,548 fresh cases of COVID-19 infection and 15 deaths were reported within the last 24 hours. The number of cumulative cases on Monday stood at 6,79,962. Over 6.54 lakh patients have recovered from the disease.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government has ordered that one-third of inoculation sites at its hospitals run round-the-clock and directed government as well as private hospitals to augment the number of beds reserved for coronavirus patients as the national capital recorded over 3,500 fresh COVID-19 cases and 15 more deaths. The case positivity rate also rose to 5.54 per cent amid a massive surge in cases in the last few weeks.

CM Arvind Kejriwal also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to relax the norms for opening vaccination centres and lift the age criterion for getting inoculated. He reiterated that the Delhi government can vaccinate all the residents of the city within three months if the necessary permissions are granted by the Centre.