Delhi reopens restaurants as Covid cases fall
New Delhi, Jun 13 (EFE).- New Delhi will reopen restaurants, shops and malls from Monday amid declining coronavirus infection rates.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal made the announcement on Sunday after more than a month of strict lockdown in the Indian capital, which was hit hard by the second wave of the pandemic.
Restaurants will be allowed to be at 50% capacity, but leisure and sports centers will remain closed.
Metro services are to open to public with 50% capacity.
Government offices will be permitted to operate at full force, with private offices functioning with 50% capacity.
Delhi entered a total lockdown at the end of April just before India started to register over 400,000 Covid-19 cases daily during its peak in early May.
The capital’s healthcare system crumbled during the pandemic’s second wave that began in mid-February, with severe shortages of hospital beds and medical oxygen.
It also led to long lines outside crematoriums and burial grounds.
With 29.5 million total coronavirus infections, India remains the second worst affected country in the world behind the United States.
India, with a population of more than 1.35 billion, is one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world and sees its inoculation drive as the main solution to the Covid-19 crisis.
