Rohit Shishodia  

Lifting lockdown restrictions and people thronging to markets, defying physical distancing directions has caused a major surge in cases of corona virus in Delhi.

Data analysis indicates that cases of the virus significantly increased with Lockdown-3 when liquor vends and other shops were allowed to open.

According to data provided by the Delhi government, the city had 30 Covid cases on March 24, 2020, when Lockdown-1 was imposed. The cumulative cases increased to 1561 on April 14, 2020, when Lockdown-1 ended.

On May 4, 2020, when Lockdown-3 commenced, the national capital had 4549 cases. This number increased to 10054 on May 18, 2020, when Lockdown-4 began. During this period, the capital saw 5505 new cases.

From May 18, 2020, to May 29, 2020, Covid cases increased by 7333, taking the total number of cases to 17,387 in the city. So far Delhi has recorded 398 deaths.

With this increase, Delhi has become the third state after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in terms of reporting highest cases of the virus so far in the country.