The Delhi Govt's decisions to fight COVID-19 range from the sensible to the ludicrous

In the past few hours, the AAP-led Delhi Government has made a couple of major announcements — one quite important and people-friendly, and the other equally flippant and pointless. Its first decision pertains to doubling the hours for COVID-19 vaccination. This is undoubtedly a welcome step because lakhs of people in the city are forced to travel long distances on work or for other businesses, which allows them little time to get themselves inoculated even if they be otherwise eligible to receive the injection. Amid the swift increase in the number of active cases, such people would now have an opportunity to get themselves fortified against the virus while, at the same time, making even if a small dent in the numbers who would crowd a vaccination centre because the working hours were only this much. The AAP Government certainly deserves high praise for taking this initiative. But that brings us to its second decision: The curfew between 10 pm and 5 am. To begin with, who roams around the city between the said hours without genuine business; won’t the police notice the suspicious ones lurking around aimlessly?

Two, if the daytime crowds keep acting as recklessly as they do, without physical distancing or wearing masks properly, how would the night curfew help? Does Corona travel only at night, or it won’t catch people with an e-pass? And then so many categories have been exempted that it is unlikely that the curfew would have any impact on people’s night parade; yes, the Government has not exempted only the sun to venture out at night. In its sincere attempts to “not cause any inconvenience to Delhiites” (read, not antagonising any section of society), the Government has repeatedly given back to the people whatever it ostensibly takes away in the name of disciplining them against the crisis prevailing at the time. Remember the odd-even scheme? It would have worked really well had it been just that: Odd-numbered vehicles can be out on the road only on alternate days; the other three days the even-numbered vehicles can ply; Sundays and gazetted holidays are free for all; public transport shall operate in full strength. But no, somewhere along the way, the politician stirred: Exclude two- and three-wheelers, exclude women drivers, and so on, until it was business as usual on the chock-a-block roads. This is exactly what the Government must stay away from.