Despite this surge, however, Garg said no further restrictions, including closure of malls or restaurants, are planned in the district as of now, but warned that “decisions have to be made” if the situation “worsens”.
Even as a night curfew has been announced in Delhi in an effort to curb the spread of Covid cases, in neighboring Gurgaon, which has also seen a similar surge in infections over the last few weeks, officials said they have not received any directions from the state government for similar curbs in the district as of now.
“There is no such direction from the state government as of now. The policy implemented throughout the state, or even if any exception is taken, the decisions are taken by the State Disaster Management Authority, or the Authority allows the District Magistrates to take decisions at their own levels regarding these things, but this has not been conveyed yet,” said Deputy Commissioner Yash Garg, who is also the District Magistrate of Gurgaon.
Gurgaon has, over the last three weeks, seen a massive surge in coronavirus cases, with the number of active cases increasing by more than 5 times in the district. On Monday evening, active cases were 3168, up from 584 on March 15. The positivity rate of the district has also jumped from 2.5 percent to 7.8 percent during this period.
Despite this surge, however, Garg said no further restrictions, including closure of malls or restaurants, are planned in the district as of now, but warned that “decisions have to be made” if the situation “worsens”. Curbs on gatherings had already been announced on Monday, with a maximum of up to 200 people allowed to gather in indoor spaces. In open space, the number is restricted up to 500. For funrals, up to 50 people are allowed.Read |Gurgaon: 5-fold increase in active cases in 3 weeks
“We are trying to manage the situation but, in case the situation worsens, decisions have to be made,” said Garg.
Gurgaon has so far recorded 65,534 cases of coronavirus, of which 61,998 people have recovered from the infection while 368 have succumbed to it. Of the 3,168 active cases in the district at present, 2,941 are in home isolation.
The Deputy Commissioner, during an inter departmental meeting on Monday, had directed Gurgaon Police officials and the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) to step up challaning in the district for those found flouting Covid norms. He had directed police officials to issue “at least 1000” challans a day and the MCG to issue “at least 100 challans” per day.
In light of the surge in Covid cases, the number of hospital beds reserved for covid patients has also been increased in the district from 35 per cent of total bed capacity to 50 per cent of total bed capacity.
