New Delhi, March 24 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal here on Tuesday announced payment of Rs 5,000 to all the daily wagers in the national capital to deal with the situation due to coronavirus.
"All daily wage workers will be paid Rs 5,000 to deal with the situation," said Kejriwal.
Addressing the media through video link, Kejriwal urged people to respect doctors, nurses, pilots and flight attendants and not discriminate against them as there had been reports that they were not allowed to enter their houses by the people or landlords.
All constructions, shops and restaurants in Delhi have been shut to prevent spread of coronavirus.
The Chief Minister said no new case had been reported in Delhi in the past 40 hours. "Of the 30 patients, 23 are under treatment. While one person died, others have been cured. We have to understand that the fight is very long. Any moment, the number can increase," he said.
Stating that even the developed nations are not able to deal with Covid-19, Kejriwal said, "we need to be very careful. Tomorrow, lockdown was announced. Now there is a curfew in Delhi. We are taking strict steps to save your lives. I am happy to see that people are taking steps to help each other. This is real nationalism."
He said despite curfew and lockdown situation, no one should die due to hunger in Delhi. "We are serving lunch and dinner in the night shelters across the city. We will not just increase the number of shelters, but also make separate arrangements for food distribution. We all should pledge that no one will sleep without food."
He also named a number of people who have decided to not take or postpone the house rents from tenants and to provide food to the people around them.
Expressing happiness over people helping each other, he said he felt sad to know that those involved in coronavirus fights were being discriminated.
"I feel sad to know that pilots, doctors and nurses are being pushed out of their houses because they are dealing with coronavirus patients. We need to change the mentality. If they are having the infection, they will be treated. But when they are healthy, there should not be any mistreatment or discrimination," the Delhi Chief Minister said.
"A five-doctor team has been formed to assess the situation, if community transfer has started in Delhi. They will submit the report in 24-hour," Kejriwal said.
( With inputs from IANS )