The order comes hours after Haryana opened Delhi-Gurgaon borders in line with revised lockdown guidelines issued by the centre on Saturday
New Delhi, June 1:
Delhi has sealed its borders for a week amid a worrying surge in COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Monday afternoon, adding that only those people providing essential services and holding government-approved e-passes will be allowed to cross.
Mr Kejriwal explained that the borders were being shut temporarily to allow hospitals and medical institutions in the city time to get a handle on the increase in coronavirus cases.
“The moment we open the borders, people from across the country will come to Delhi for treatment. Delhi hospitals should be reserved for the people of Delhi,” Mr Kejriwal said in his brief address to the city, adding, “At the same time, Delhi belongs to the country, how can it refuse to treat anyone?”
The national capital has nearly 20,000 confirmed novel coronavirus cases so far, with 473 deaths linked to the virus. On Sunday evening city authorities reported that more than 1,000 new infections had been detected in the preceding 24 hours; this was the fourth consecutive time that the number of new cases crossed the 1,000-mark in 24 hours.
According to the Chief Minister, Delhi has 9,500 beds for COVID-19 patients, up from 4,500 and then 6,600 as the city-state scales up health and hospital infrastructure to contain and quell the virus outbreak.
“I can guarantee, as your Chief Minister, there will be a bed if you or someone in your family is infected,” Mr Kejriwal said.
The order to shut borders comes hours after Haryana opened Delhi-Gurgaon borders in line with revised lockdown guidelines issued by the centre on Saturday, which stated that non-essential inter-state movement of vehicles and people would now be allowed.
Uttar Pradesh’s Noida, which also shares a border with Delhi, had sealed all routes in April in an attempt to stop the COVID-19 virus from spreading. On Sunday the Noida district administration confirmed the border would remain closed till further notice.
