Delhi plans virus curbs as infections rise, critical-care beds run short

NEW DELHI, Nov 17 (Reuters): As India's capital battles its worst phase in the coronavirus pandemic, authorities drew up plans on Tuesday to reinstate some curbs, such as lockdowns of some markets, if necessary, although elsewhere in the nation new infections are falling.

India added 29,163 cases over the past 24 hours for its lowest such increase since at least mid-July, government data showed, taking its tally of infections to 8.87 million, second only to the United States, and a death toll of 130,519.

Both infections and deaths have fallen from a mid-September high but the situation is different in Delhi, a city of 20 million swathed in air pollution, where crowds thronged markets for last week's Hindu festival of Diwali.

With his palms joined together during a live broadcast on Twitter, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal pleaded for people to wear masks and maintain social distancing.

"If...we see that social distancing and mask-wearing is not being followed in any bazaar and there's a possibility of those areas becoming a hotspot, we should be allowed to close them down for a few days," he added.

Kejriwal said he had written to federal authorities for permission to impose the curbs.