The streets of the national capital, which used to be bustling even before New Year’s Eve, are now empty by 10 pm. And it is not just Delhi. Several states across the country are ringing in 2022 on a gloomy note, replacing curbs and night-curfews with customary celebrations, some well into January.
And they are doing so, keeping an eye on the rising COVID-19 and Omicron cases. On Friday, 16,764 new cases were reported in India and 220 people died. This meant 10,000 more cases for the second consecutive day after 33 days. The number of omicron cases, the highly transmissible form of the virus, rose to 1,270, with the country’s daily positivity rate rising to 1.34 per cent.
Mumbai, with a positivity rate of 4 per cent, had imposed Section 144 (disallowing large groups) till January 7. New Year celebrations and parties have also been banned in any closed or open space, including restaurants, hotels, bars. , pubs, resorts and clubs.
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For example, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were among those who imposed night curfew. And in Tamil Nadu, Chennai’s popular Marina beach, where midnight celebrations take place every year, is closed from Friday night (December 31). But the other beach hot-spot, Goa, has not imposed a ban. And so did Telangana and West Bengal allowing celebrations, providing vaccinations and having appropriate COVID-19 protocols in place.
This week, the Union Health Secretary had advised eight states, including Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Karnataka, to take stringent measures to contain the spread. VK Paul, NITI Aayog, member-health, had cautioned that the R-factor was above 1, an indication that cases were on the rise.
fewer hospitalizations
But Dr Virendra Yadav, Chief Medical Officer, Gurugram, Haryana said that the situation is not alarming at present, some are admitted in hospitals. Similar reports were also coming from other places. A government representative in Mumbai said less than 5 per cent of the total number of positive patients were being admitted, and that too with mild symptoms. In Gujarat too, health officials claim that hospitals in places like Ahmedabad and Surat have about 10-12 per cent of patients admitted, despite the availability of oxygen beds and ventilators in hospitals. Most of the patients had mild or no symptoms, and were therefore home-quarantined, he explains.
restrictions and curfews
And yet, the streets are deserted by 10 pm, an hour before the curfew begins, said Swapnil Mehta, owner of a retail fashion accessories shop on Ahmedabad’s CG Road. He recalled, “Traditionally a huge crowd gathered here (a commercial centre) on New Year’s Eve… People used to gather to welcome the new year and the festivities lasted till 1 pm.”
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In Karnataka too, statewide restrictions are in place. From December 28 to January 7, all ‘non-essential’ and non-emergency travel between 10 pm and 5 am has been banned. Pubs, bars, hotels and other eateries have been asked to operate at 50 per cent capacity, with employees mandatorily fully vaccinated. In Bengaluru, gatherings of five or more are not permitted in any public place, including parks, playgrounds or other open spaces. And last week the state government said 7,100 ICU beds were being prepared with adequate oxygen supply.
against the tide
In Telangana, liquor shops were allowed to function till 12 am and bars and restaurants till 1 am, with COVID-19 norms in force. This surprised many, as cases are expected to rise in the next few weeks.
However, clubs in West Bengal were taking precautions without any restrictions. They canceled the annual mass parties on New Year’s Eve. The state saw its Covid-19 cases nearly double to 2,128 on Thursday, with a positivity rate of 5.47 per cent.
(With inputs from Venkatesh Babu (Bengaluru), Radheshyam Jadhav (Pune), KV Kurmanath (Hyderabad), TE Raja Simhan (Chennai), Shobha Roy (Kolkata))
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