The Delhi government has come up with a 4-level colour-coded 'Graded Response Action Plan' (GRAP) in a bid to clear confusions regarding imposing of lockdowns or lifting of curbs, to tackle Covid-19 cases in the national capital.
The plan, passed by an expert committee formed by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will guide the government’s Covid-19 preparedness in case a fresh wave of the pandemic comes.
The colour coded alert system will have 4 levels: Yellow, Amber, Orange and Red alert
Level 1 or a Yellow Alert will be for areas which have a positivity rate of more than 0.5%, for two consecutive days, or has cumulative new positive cases of over 1500, for 7 days at a stretch. The third metric being factored in is, if the 500 Oxygen beds are occupied on an average for a duration of 7 days.
For Level 2 or an Amber Alert, areas should have a positivity rate of above 1%, or if weekly new positive cases are 3500, or if the average oxygen bed occupancy is about 700, for 7 days.
For areas in Level 3, an Orange Alert will be issued. This means the area has a positivity rate of over 2%, weekly new positive cases of 9000 and more, and an oxygen bed occupancy of over 1000.
Level 4 or a Red alert will be the most serious. Areas will be put in the Red zone, if positivity rate is over 5%, or new weekly positive cases are 16,000 or more, or average oxygen bed occupancy is 3000 and above.
Based on these levels, the action plan has also been formulated accordingly.
With an yellow alert, shops in markets and malls dealing with non-essential goods and services will be allowed to open between 10 am to 8 pm as per the odd-even formula. One weekly market will be allowed per municipal zone at half the capacity of vendors under a Level 1 alert, while construction activities and industrial establishments and manufacturing units will be allowed to operate.
Under the Amber alert, construction activities and manufacturing units will be allowed though shops in markets and shopping malls will have to close by 6 pm. The govt recommends imposing a 50% operational capacity curb on the metro service on an ‘Amber’ alert.
When an Orange alert kicks in, only essential services, stand-alone shops and construction activities, with on-site labourers, will be allowed. This will mean closure of shopping malls and markets, and no construction activities. The metro is likely to be closed for the general public during ‘Orange’ alert.
For a Red alert, restrictions under the orange alert will stay and more curbs will be added depending on the situation.
This graded response action plan,has been cleared by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, who is the chairperson of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).