Hours after closing markets due to Covid cases, the Delhi government lifts the order of closure of Punjabi Basti Market and Janata Market, Nangloi, with immediate effect.

The UT govt had earlier ordered the closure of these markets on the grounds of “violations of Covid-19 guidelines and social distancing norms.”

The West Delhi district authorities had ordered two evening markets in Nangloi to be shut for violating various COVID-19 safety guidelines on social distancing and wearing of masks.

The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in West Delhi issued an order on Sunday, directing closure of Punjabi Basti Market and Janta Market till November 30, a senior district official said.

“The government directives for wearing face mask, maintaining physical distancing and other such COVID-19 safety measures were being violated both by the vendors and shoppers in the two rehri-patri (street side) markets despite repeated instructions and warnings by officials,” he said.

The district authorities, accompanied by police and North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) teams, conducted inspection to ensure the closure of the markets and removal of encroachments in both the markets.

Over 200 vendors dealing in various daily use items used to set up shops in the markets that opened in the evening hours daily.

The national capital has reported 6,746 fresh infections in the last 24 hours taking Delhi’s total Covod-19 caseload to 5,29,836 and 8,391 fatalities.

For the first time, the number of RT-PCR tests in Delhi has exceeded the number of rapid antigen tests, while over 3.7 lakh people have been surveyed as part of the efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus in the national capital, the Union Home Ministry said on Sunday.

India has recorded 44,059 fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, pushing the country’s Covid-19 caseload to over 91 lakh mark, according to Ministry of Health.

The country’s total Covid-19 case load stands at 91,39,865 with 4,43,486 active Covid-19 cases which is 4.85 per cent of the total coronavirus cases in the country.

In the last 24 hours, 41,024 patients have recovered taking the country’s total recoveries to 85,62,641 with a recovery rate of 93.68 per cent.