Delhi lockdown extended, clothing shops to remain closed until at least May 3

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Apr 26, 2021

On Sunday, the Delhi government announced it has extended the local lockdown until May 3 and will continue to monitor the situation as ‘non-essential’ shops and online services will continue to remain closed.   

“We had imposed a six-day lockdown in Delhi,” said Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Times of India reported. “The lockdown is being extended to next Monday till 5am.”

The local authorities will continue to monitor the situation to see if cases increase or decrease and decide accordingly, Kejriwal said. 

Delhi police are currently ensuring that residents and retailers do not violate lockdown regulations. They are also working to address the effects of the oxygen shortage by preventing hoarding. The lockdown is less strict than last year as a number of public transport services are still running. 
 
The Delhi lockdown was first imposed on the evening of April 19, closing all non-essential businesses including clothing stores and malls.

Non-essential e-commerce has also been temporarily banned, which has led to calls by traders’ associations for the definition of essential goods to be widened to keep businesses afloat and enable citizens to buy what they need. 
 
The Chamber of Trade & Industry said that traders are generally in favour of the city-wide lockdown in order to halt the spread of coronavirus due to its severity, despite the loss of business.