The plan

He indicates that the restrictions will be based on three parameters: the positivity rate, the cumulative active cases and the occupancy of oxygen beds in hospitals. And the restrictions were categorized under the yellow, orange, orange and red alerts. While yellow is the lowest alert level, red is the highest, which will result in a complete lockdown of the city. Certainly, most economic and social activities and public transport will stop with the announcement of an orange alert itself.

Yellow: This alert will be extinguished if the positivity rate remains above 0.5% for two consecutive days, or if the cumulative new positive cases (for a period of one week) affect 1,500 cases, or if the average occupancy of the oxygen beds in hospitals remain 500 for a week.

Restrictions: Market and shopping center stores dealing with non-essential goods and services will be allowed to open on an odd-even formula between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., while one weekly market will be allowed per municipal area at half the capacity of the shops. sellers. Restaurants will operate at 50% of their capacity between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., bars will be open between 12:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. also at 50% of their capacity. Theaters, banquet halls, auditoriums, spas, gymnasiums and amusement parks will remain closed. Delhi metro and buses will be allowed to operate at 50% capacity. Delhi government offices will call 100% of grade I officers, while private companies will be allowed to call 50% of staff between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Gyms and yoga centers will also close. There will be a complete ban on social / entertainment / religious / political / festival-related gatherings. Sports complexes, stadiums (excluding national / international sporting events), amusement parks will be closed. At weddings and funeral-related gatherings, 20 people each will be allowed. But banquet halls will not be allowed to host weddings. A nighttime curfew will go into effect and restrict movement of people between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Fully authorized under Yellow: Public parks, gardens, construction activities and industrial establishments, e-commerce, hairdressing salons, salons, beauty institutes.

Amber: The city will enter the next phase of restrictions if the test positivity rate remains above 1% for two consecutive days, or 3,500 new cases in a week, or if the average occupancy of oxygen beds remains above 700 over the course of a week.

Restrictions: Other than the restrictions listed in yellow, restaurants and bars will close, but home delivery and take out will be allowed. The hours of shops in markets and shopping centers will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Public parks and gardens will close, as will hair salons, salons and beauty salons. The metro will be authorized at 33% of its capacity, while buses will have to respect the 50% ceiling. At weddings and funeral-related gatherings, 20 people each will be allowed. In addition to the nighttime curfew, the weekend curfew will come into effect, restricting public movement from 10 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Fully licensed under Amber: construction activities and manufacturing units will be licensed. E-commerce will not have any restrictions either.

Orange: Stricter restrictions under the amber alert will take effect if the test’s positivity remains above 2% for two consecutive days. It will also be sounded if the city registers 9,000 cases in a week or if the average occupancy of oxygen hospital beds remains at 1,000 for seven consecutive days.

Despite the increase in Covid cases in Delhi, huge crowds were seen at New Delhi train station on Saturday. Express photo by Praveen Khanna.

Restrictions: Delhi Metro, shopping malls and markets will close except for stores selling essentials such as grocery stores, milk stalls, pharmacies. Buses will be allowed to operate with a 50% seat capacity only with passengers engaged in essential activities. The amber alert will also result in the cessation of construction activities. Only sites offering accommodation for workers will be authorized. For factories, only those producing basic necessities will be authorized if the workers can live there. E-commerce will only be allowed for essential items such as medicines or health equipment. Delhi government offices will be allowed to open, but private offices, except those falling under exempt categories, will close. At weddings and funeral-related gatherings, the number of guests will be limited to 15. Night and weekend curfews will remain in effect.

Red: If the test positivity rate exceeds 5% two days in a row, or if the city registers 16,000 new cases in one week. It will also come into effect if the average occupancy of oxygen beds in hospitals remains at 3,000 or more over a week.

Restrictions: The city will go into containment in the event of an orange alert itself. The additional restriction will mainly affect public movement of people and vehicles, as a full curfew will be announced. At weddings and funeral-related gatherings, the number of guests will continue to be limited to 15. There will be a full curfew on the movement of people. Weddings and funeral-related gatherings: 20 people each will be allowed under yellow and orange alerts. In the event of orange and red alerts, 15 people each will be allowed to attend the ceremonies.

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For travelers entering Delhi: In the case of people entering Delhi from other states, it will be mandatory to establish that they are fully vaccinated, or a negative RT-PCR report not older than three days will need to be produced when the city is in red alert and that the arrival the travelers come from States with a rate of positivity higher than 5%. Those coming from states where a new strain of Covid has been found will also need to produce negative vaccination or RT-PCR reports.

Sectors that will remain open regardless of the alert level: Delhi hotels and lodges will remain open under the four alert levels. Places of worship will remain open so that rituals can be performed but no visitors will be allowed. In the case of intra-state bus travel, only those in exempt categories will be authorized and seat occupancy will be capped at 50% from the yellow alert itself.