Remain alert, follow COVID-19 guidelines during Holi: Delhi health minister to people

New Delhi, Mar 22: Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Monday underlined the need to remain alert amid a resurgence in coronavirus cases, and appealed to people to take precautions during Holi festival.

He also said government hospitals in Delhi are considering staggered timings for OPD patients in view of the increase in COVID-19 cases.

"There is a need to remain alert and wear masks all the time. Strict action is being taken against those found without a mask and violating social distancing norms," Jain told reporters.

He also urged the people to follow COVID appropriate behaviour during Holi on March 28-29.

The health minister had on Sunday said the Delhi government has been conducting aggressive testing and contact tracing, and the recent spike in fresh coronavirus cases will also be contained soon.

Delhi reported over 800 cases for the second day on the trot on Sunday.

The active cases stand at 3,618. The positivity rate remains at over 1 per cent for the second consecutive day, according to a bulletin.

The 823 new infections have pushed the COVID tally in the national capital to 6,47,984, whereas 6.32 lakh patients have recovered from the virus. There were 813 new cases on Saturday, 716 on Friday, 607 on Thursday, 536 on Wednesday and 425 on Tuesday, according to official data.