India eases COVID restrictions in New Delhi as 'situation under control'

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) – The coronavirus restrictions in India’s capital New Delhi has been eased as the "situation is under control," officials announced on Thursday.

The New Delhi government decided to lift the weekend curfew and allow private offices, restaurants and cinema halls to operate with 50% capacity, effective immediately.

However, schools and colleges will still remain shut.

The move came after the meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority which gathered to evaluate the current coronavirus situation in the city.

"The COVID-19 situation is under control and the positivity rate is likely to dip below 10%," Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said.

Meanwhile, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Twitter that he tested positive for COVID-19. He requested all those who came in contact with him to take precautions.

India recorded nearly 286,400 new coronavirus cases and 573 deaths over the past day, according to official data released by the Health Ministry on Thursday.

The total number of COVID-19 patients has topped 40 million, while the death toll has surpassed 491,000 thus far. The active cases currently stand at 2.22 million.

On Thursday, the southern Kerala state reported the highest number of 49,771 cases in the country.