Vaccination centres in the national capital will operate till 9 pm starting March 22, according to an official order. A copy of the order issued by the city government's health department was shared by Health Minister Satyendar Jain in a tweet on Friday. "Taking cognisance of the sudden surge in the COVID cases, all Delhi Govt hospitals will hereby operate vaccination sites in their premises till atleast 9pm. Adequate man power will be deployed to ensure the same. I request Delhiites to follow proper protocols and stay safe!," he tweeted.
The decision was announced by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday. Acknowledging that coronavirus cases in Delhi have been rising in the last few days, Kejriwal, at a virtual press conference, had asserted it was not a matter to be worried about even as he announced that the capacity of daily inoculation in Delhi would be augmented from 30,000-40,000 to 1.25 lakh. He had also said the number of vaccination centres will be doubled to 1,000 from about 500 at present spanning both government and private facilities. The closing time for vaccination would be extended from 9 am to 5 pm currently to 9 am to 9 pm. Delhi on Thursday recorded 607 new COVID-19 cases, the highest in over two-and-a-half months, while one more fatality pushed the death toll to 10,949, the Health Department said. Delhi had recorded 536 cases on Wednesday and 425 on Tuesday, with a positivity rate of 0.61 per cent.