Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that there would be no relaxations in the lockdown rules in the Capital since the number of Covid-19 cases were rising. Delhi has nearly 1,900 cases of Covid-19 and 42 deaths. The total number of Covid-19 cases in India on Friday morning was 15,712 and 507 people have died.

“We have decided, for the health and well-being of the residents of Delhi, that there will be no relaxation in lockdown rules,” Kejriwal said at a media briefing. “We will review the situation in a week with experts and decide whether the restrictions can be eased.”

Kejriwal said that on Saturday, 186 asymptomatic people in Delhi were found to be infected with Covid-19. “This is more worrisome since people don’t know that they are carrying the infection and passing it on to others,” he said.

The chief minister added that all eleven districts in Delhi have been declared hotspots and 77 areas have been marked as containment zones. “According to the Centre’s guidelines, restrictions cannot be eased in hotspot areas,” he said. “The areas where people have shown discipline in following lockdown rules have not reported new cases.”

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Kejriwal claimed that Delhi was fighting the toughest battle against Covid-19 in the country and accounted for 12% of the total cases. “People from foreign have brought coronavirus to Delhi,” he said. “The maximum number of foreign nationals came to Delhi.” He added that the Capital also saw a surge in Covid-19 cases because of the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in the Nizamuddin area in March.

The chief minister added that keeping the restrictions in place was necessary. “I am also concerned about children not going to schools, people not being able to earn livelihood,” he said. “But what if we relax the lockdown and the situation deteriorates?” he added. “We may fall short of intensive care units and ventilators.”

The nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 has been extended till May 3. The government has allowed certain activities to resume in non-hotspot areas from April 20. Industries in rural areas and all agricultural activities will be allowed to resume from April 20. The government said that non-banking financial institutions and micro finance corporations will be allowed to operate with minimum staff. The Centre also allowed the harvesting and processing of minor forest produce, non-timber forest produce by Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers.