Delhi unlocks further: Cinemas can open with 50% capacity, Metro, buses at full capacity

New Delhi, July 24: The Delhi government on Saturday allowed cinema and theatre halls to reopen at 50 per cent capacity while metro trains and buses can operate at full capacity in Delhi from Monday.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), in a statement said that, the gathering limit at wedding ceremonies and funerals have also been increased to 100 from the present cap of 50.

Spas can also open from July 26 but their all employees have to be fully vaccinated or undergo RT-PCR test fortnightly.

All auditoriums, assembly halls have also been permitted to reopen from Monday at 50 per cent seating capacity.

This essentially leaves only schools, colleges, educational and coaching institutes under the category of prohibited activities in Delhi.

All social, political, sports, entertainment, cultural, religious and festival-related gatherings remain banned.

Delhi witnessed an unprecedented surge of cases and deaths during the second wave of coronavirus in April and May. The situation seems to have been improving over the past few weeks, allowing the government to reopen the city in a phased manner.

Delhi faced a brutal second wave of the pandemic that claimed a large number of lives daily. The rapid rise in the number of cases led to a shortage of medical oxygen at various city hospitals.

On April 20, the city had reported a record 28,395 cases. On April 22, the case positivity rate was 36.2 per cent, the highest so far.

At 448, the highest number of deaths was reported on May 3.