The markets and shopping centers of New Delhi will be able to reopen on Monday, which marks a new stage in the deconfinement process, the Indian authorities announced on Saturday, in a context of falling Covid-19 contaminations in the country's major cities, after weeks of restrictions.
The Delhi metro will also resume to 50% of its capacity, said the city's Prime Minister, Arvind Kejriwal.
Markets and malls will operate every other day, with half of them open every day.
Offices can also reopen at 50% capacity, but Arvind Kejriwal urged his fellow citizens to work from home instead.
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The easing comes after Delhi last week allowed the resumption of work in construction and factories. “
They opened a week ago. On the pandemic front, the situation is still under control,
”observed Arvind Kejriwal. “
It is important to get the economy back in working order if things improve in terms of health. We pray that this will continue,
”he added.
The state government of Maharashtra - which includes Bombay, India's economic powerhouse - has announced a five-step plan to ease restrictions, depending on infection rates and hospital capacity. At level 1 (with an infection rate below 5% and patient bed occupancy rates below 25%), all shops, restaurants and malls will be allowed to reopen. But at level 5 (infection rate above 20%), the restrictions will remain strict.
According to official statistics, daily infections in India fell to around 120,000 from more than 400,000 in May.
The death toll has also fallen, with 3,380 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, although this appears to be grossly underestimated.
At least 344,082 people in the country have died from the coronavirus, which is now rampant in some rural areas of the country.
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On Saturday, New Delhi reported 400 new infections, compared to 25,000 daily cases seven weeks ago, when containment was decided.
The upsurge in the virus at the time was attributed to the emergence of new variants and the government's authorization to return to normal, with political rallies and religious festivals.
The immunization program is progressing slowly due to shortages, confusion and feuds between the federal government and those in regional states.
Currently, only about 180 million people, or 14% of the population, have received one dose of the vaccine and 45 million, or 3.4%, have received two doses.