Delhi sees over 500 per cent jump in COVID containment zones since April 1

Team Udayavani, Apr 19, 2021, 6:19 PM IST

New Delhi: The number of containment zones in the national capital has jumped to 13,259 from 2,183 on April 1, according to official data released by the Delhi government as the city grapples to rein in the drastic surge in COVID cases.

It was a 507 percent increase in such zones between April 1 and April 18.

The number of containment zones has risen correspondingly to the increase in coronavirus cases. On April 1, the city had reported a total of 2,790 new cases with 10,498 total active cases.

The number increased multifold with 25,462 new COVID-19 cases and 74,941 total active cases on April 18.

While the number of containment zones has consistently risen since April 12, the biggest jump was observed on April 18, when the national capital recorded the highest daily rise of coronavirus cases.

On April 17, Delhi had 11,235 containment zones, which increased to 13,250 on April 18, adding more than 2000 zones across the city.

The week from April 4 to April 11 saw a gradual increase in the number of containment zones.

While on April 4, the city had 2,917 restricted areas, it added 173 more such zones on April 5 resulting in 3,090 containment zones.

The following days, the Delhi government declared 3,291 containment zones on April 6; 3,708 on April 7; 4,226 on April 8; 4,768 on April 9; 5,236 on April 10 and 5,705 on April 11.

It was after April 14 that the city started adding more than 1000 containment zones to the list every day.

On April 14, there were 7,598 containment zones, which increased to 8,661 on April 15 with the addition of 1,063 zones.

Another 1,268 zones were added on April 16 making a total of 9,929 such areas.

On April 17, it added another 1,306 containment zones to the list.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a six-day lockdown from 10 PM on Monday till 5 AM on April 26, saying the step was necessary to deal with the rising number of COVID-19 cases that have increased the burden on the health system.

The national capital’s health system is stretched, although it has not collapsed yet, he said, adding that despite around 25,500 new cases every day, Delhi’s health system is still functioning.