Crowding UP In Unlock 1.0 - City Blatantly Defying Covid Safety Norms

From parties to shopping: Even as Capital plunges deeper into corona crisis, social distancing rules are dangerously violated

- Chayyanika Nigam and Ajay Kumar

At around 9 pm on Monday, a police team got a tip-off about a birthday bash going on inside a restaurant in West Delhi’s Rajouri Garden.

The cops, who were conducting surprise checks in the area, were shocked when they finished counting the attendees. There were 38 of them!

It was on Monday when restaurants and malls started reopening in the city, about 75 days after they were closed down as part of the lockdown imposed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The police arrested four people, including the restaurant’s owner and the birthday boy, for violating social distancing norms and rules prohibiting public gatherings.

As per Unlock 1, restaurants can operate with only 50% occupancy, with proper safeguards. The party hotspot wasn’t allowed to have more than 24 guests at a time.

This is just one such case. From birthday parties at restaurants to crowding stores for shopping to not wearing masks while stepping out — many are throwing caution to the wind, Mail Today ground reports have revealed.

This is when Delhi is plunging deeper into the Covid-19 crisis. By Friday, the number of coronavirus cases in Delhi was 36,824, including 1,214 deaths. The AAP government has projected 5.5 lakh infections by July 31.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has often asked people to follow social distancing. On Wednesday, he again urged Delhi to fight the pandemic like a people's movement. “We all have to maintain social distancing, wear masks and wash our hands. If someone is not following these norms, we must correct them.”

WHAT WE SAW ACROSS THE CAPITAL