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| India recently began rolling out vaccinations for teenagers. (Photo by=AFP/Manjunath Kiran) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] NEW DELHI: India's capital New Delhi will lockdown over the weekend as authorities grapple with a fresh surge in coronavirus cases, partly fuelled by the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
BBC said that the country was battered by a devastating COVID-19 outbreak last year that overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums, but daily case numbers had since then stayed reasonably low until last week. Delhi's new restrictions came the same day the sprawling megacity's chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, announced he had been infected and was suffering "mild symptoms". Kejriwal said he was isolated at home and urged those in contact with him in the past few days to get tested.
The capital last week closed gyms and cinemas, as well as imposed an overnight curfew in an effort to stem the spread. All residents besides essential workers will now be asked to stay home from Friday night to Monday morning. More than 200,000 people died across India last spring after a wave of Delta variant infections that brought the healthcare system to its knees. But under-reporting is widespread and some studies have estimated its actual toll could be up to 10 times higher. India's 481,000 known COVID-19 deaths are the world's third-highest toll, behind the United States and Brazil.
