Union Interior Minister Amit Shah is chairing an emergency meeting on the topic of increasing cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Delhi. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Delhi Deputy Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are among those attending the meeting.
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The high-profile meeting is being held to discuss measures to control the spread of the disease in the national capital, people familiar with the events said. This also marks the second time Shah has intervened directly after the surge in Covid-19 cases from Delhi. He had chaired a series of meetings in June and July when the city witnessed a major spike in its Covid-19 cases.
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On Saturday, Delhi recorded 7,340 new cases of the disease and 96 related deaths, bringing its Covid-19 count to 482,170, including 7,519 deaths, the Delhi government’s Covid-19 bulletin showed. The number of recovered and active cases, for its part, stands at 430,195 and 44,456 respectively, according to the vignettes.
Read also | Delhi Records 7,340 New Covid-19 Cases Despite Fewer Testing; the death toll exceeds 7,500
On Wednesday, Delhi had reported its highest single-day Covid-19 count in history of 8,539 along with 85 deaths. Then on Thursday, it reported 104 deaths due to the virus, the highest number of deaths here in a single day, as well as 7,053 new infections.
On Friday, CM Kejriwal expressed hope that the current pandemic situation in the capital will be brought under control “in the next 7 to 10 days”. Delhi, according to several people, including Kejriwal, is in the midst of a “third wave” of Covid-19 cases.
The Delhi government had already announced a series of measures to control the situation, including a ban on the sale of firecrackers in the national capital until November 30, although on Diwali, the ban was widely challenged. In addition, for Chhath Puja, which falls from November 21-22, officials have been ordered to ensure that the puja is not held in public places.
Schools in Delhi have already been instructed to remain closed until further orders.
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