Coronavirus: Delhi tightens curbs, stagger metro services for Monday to ensure social distancing

The metro service will be operation from 6 am on Monday but will be available only for essential service providers till 8 am.

The public curfew or the Janta Curfew invoked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi might be in force just for 14 hours on Sunday but Delhi administration is determined to ensure curbs are in place to keep people safe from novel coronavirus.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has already said that the national capital will be put under a lockdown, if need be, to keep people safe from Covid-19 outbreak.

On Monday, a day after the Janta Curfew, Delhi administration has decided stagger metro services to ensure social distancing.

The metro service will be in operation from 6 am on Monday but will be available only for essential service providers like fire service personnel, those working with the police, hospitals or with the power services. People between 6 to 8 am will be allowed after checking their identity cards. During this time, metro trains will run at an interval of 20 minutes.

From 8 am, DMRC services will be available to the general public until it is shut at 4 pm. Metro trains will run between 4 pm to 8 pm on Monday evening. Services will not be in operation after 8 pm. Parking facilities at all metro stations on Monday will remain closed.

Although the curbs are there only for Monday, DMRC officials said commuters will be informed if any such measures are required to stay in place for the future to keep coronavirus in check.

Kejriwal on Saturday announced a ban on gatherings of more than five people in the capital in a significant reduction from the previous cap on gatherings exceeding 50 people in the wake of coronavirus spread in the country.

Delhi has reported more than 30 cases of positive Covid19 infections including one death so far.

The government has shut down most public places including schools, colleges, cinemas, malls, restaurants, swimming pools etc to prevent community transmission of the disease.

“Any gathering of more than 5 people will not be allowed in Delhi. An order will be issued soon,” announced Kejriwal among several other measures to combat the wide-spread impact of the disease.

The Delhi government also announced a 50 per cent increase in ration from fair price shops in the capital keeping in mind the impact on daily wage earners who are believed to be the hardest-hit from the curtailment in economic activity. It also announced doubling up of the pension for widows, differently-abled and elderly for March.