54% Delhi residents now support removal of odd-even restrictions in markets; want night-weekend curfew to continue till test positivity rate reaches 5%

January 27, 2022, New Delhi: In light of the new COVID variant Omicron leading a surge in daily cases, the Government of Delhi in late December, imposed a series of restrictions to curb the spread within the state. According to the Delhi State Health Bulletin of Jan 24th, the Test Positivity Rate in the state has shown a gradual decline at 11.79% which had peaked on January 14th at 30.64%. Though testing has declined considerably, the feedback from citizens on LocalCircles also indicates that there is a decline in cases. Arguably, the current restrictions in place are playing some role in reducing spread as get togethers aren’t taking place late night or on weekends. However, businesses continue to get impacted with retail stores only permitted to open on alternate days under the Odd-Even rule. Last week, the Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal rejected the recommendation of Delhi Government to end the weekend curfew, along with the odd-even system in the market, maintaining that the cases should decline further.

According to studies, the transmissibility rate of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is 5 times higher than the Delta variant that caused the 2nd wave of the outbreak in India. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Omicron variant has three descendent lineages, BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3. Among them, there is a significant presence of BA.1 and BA.2 in the country. Though a few European scientists have outlined the possibility of re-infection by an alternate variant, Government of India experts are yet to give their opinion on the issue.

LocalCircles has been collecting residents of Delhi’s input on what should be the criteria to remove the current COVID restrictions in the capital and if not, when will it be. The survey released on Jan 21st had indicated 63% of Delhi residents would approve the removal of COVID restrictions only if the test positivity rate (TPR) falls to 5%. After a week, with a dip in the current TPR of the state to 11.79%, LocalCircles has gathered the pulse of residents of Delhi to understand their opinion in regard to removal of restrictions in the country’s capital. The survey received 8,661 responses from residents across all districts of Delhi. 65% of the respondents were men while 35% were women.

54% Delhi residents now support removal of odd-even restrictions in markets; want night-weekend curfew to continue till test positivity rate reaches 5%

The question in the survey asked residents of Delhi, “What should be the criteria to remove current COVID-related restrictions (weekend and night curfew, market odd-even shops, etc.) imposed in Delhi?” In response, 40% said “Relax market odd-even restrictions, continue night and weekend curfew till TPR drops to 5%”, 18% said “Relax market odd-even restrictions, night and weekend curfew only when TPR drops to 5%”, 14% said “TPR should fall to 2% and then all restrictions can be removed”, and another 14% said “TPR should fall to 1% and then all restrictions can be removed”. There were 14% who said “Just remove all restrictions right now without delay”. On an aggregate basis, the findings indicate that 54% of Delhi residents now support the removal of odd-even restrictions in markets. On the other hand, 72% of the residents will approve of the weekend and night curfew removal once the test positivity rate hits 5%. Currently only 14% residents are in favour of removal of these restrictions. This question in the survey received 8,661 responses.

To summarise, the findings of the survey indicate that 54% residents of Delhi now support removal of odd-even shop restrictions in markets. However, on the removal of night and weekend curfew, most residents surveyed are opposed to the idea till the test positivity rate reaches 5%.

LocalCircles will share the findings of this survey with the Chief Minister, the Office of Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the Chief Secretary so as they finalise the way forward on restrictions in Delhi, this collective public feedback is taken into account.