Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday that schools in the national capital, which have been shut due to the coronavirus pandemic, will not be opening for now. The message from the chief minister comes amid a rise in the cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Delhi, where more than 348,000 people have contracted it and 6,189 have died so far.
Kejriwal, earlier in the day, had pitched for free availability for Covid-19 vaccine for all Indian citizens, reasoning that everyone in the country has been troubled by the coronavirus disease. “The whole country should get a free Covid-19 vaccine. It is the right of the entire country. All the people are troubled by the coronavirus, so the vaccine should be free for the country,” Kejriwal said soon after inaugurating two flyovers in northeast Delhi.
Already witnessing a rise in the number of active cases and fresh cases, the national capital is anticipating a spike in Covid-19 cases during the winter and ongoing festive season. Recording a surge in Covid-19 cases after 34 days, Delhi on Friday recorded 4,086 new infections and 26 deaths, taking the total number of confirmed infections in the city to 348,404. The toll from the disease rose to 6,189.
The political slugfest over Covid-19 vaccine distribution has become more visible as India has been fighting against the viral contagion, which has wreaked havoc on the Indian economy, infected more than 7.8 million and claimed 1,17,956 lives nationwide, for almost nine months now.
Earlier this week, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised the distribution of free Covid-19 vaccine as part of its Bihar poll manifesto, which triggered an immediate action by the Election Commission amid criticism by opposition parties. Congress dubbed the move as political immorality on part of the BJP for using Covid-19 vaccine as election sop
