Delhi COVID-19 update: DDMA issues fresh orders on e-passes for night, weekend curfew
Just a few days after the Delhi government imposed a weekend lockdown and a night curfew in the national capital amid the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the DDMA has issued an important clarification regarding the usage of e-passes for movement.
In its latest notice, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has said that e-passes issued for movement connected to “essential goods and services” or “exempted category” shall be considered as valid during the weekend lockdown and night curfew in the national capital.
The DDMA, in its official orders, said, “As per the previous orders, movement of the individuals for the activities specified as ‘Essential goods and Services’ or ‘Exempted category’ as prescribed in DDMA order have been allowed for movement during night curfew and weekend curfew with the possession of e-pass (in soft or hard copy) only.”
In its official orders, the authority further clarified that e-passes possessed by any individual on or after January 4 for movement related to ‘Essential goods and services’ or ‘Exempted category’ will be considered as valid during the duration of the night curfew and the weekend curfew in Delhi.
The latest clarification regarding the e-passes comes amid the current surge of COVID-19 cases across Delhi over the past couple of weeks. Though the number of cases is increasing, the Delhi government has no intention of imposing a lockdown in the city.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain, amid the current COVID-19 surge, reassured that the situation is under control number of hospital admissions in the national capital due to COVID-19 has stabilised over the last five days, which might lead the third wave of the pandemic to subside in the city.
As per the health bulletin of the city, as many as 27,561 fresh COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Delhi over the last 24 hours, with an increase in the number of virus-related deaths. The city recorded 40 deaths on Wednesday, the health bulletin states.