All kinds of cultural events, gatherings, and congregations to celebrate Christmas and New Year have been banned in the national capital in view of the rising cases of Covid-19, including those of its new variant, Omicron.

In an order issued on Wednesday, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) asked all the District Magistrates and the DCPs to ensure that no such event and gathering takes place in the areas under their jurisdiction.

The order said, “All DMs and District DCPs shall ensure that no cultural event/gatherings/congregations take place for celebrating Christmas or New Year in NCT of Delhi.”

According to the statistics provided by the government, Delhi has the maximum number of Omicron cases (57) followed by Maharashtra (54), Telangana (24) and Karnataka (19).

All DMs were instructed by the DDMA to conduct an “intensive survey” of the areas in their jurisdiction and identify the pockets which have the potential of becoming super-spreaders or hotspots of Covid-19,
including the Omicron variant.

The DDMA also asked the officials concerned to keep the Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs) informed about the increasing trend of Covid-19 cases and the new variant. The DMs were asked to prepare and submit a daily report in this regard.

The DDMA order further said, “Since wearing of the mask is the most important weapon in the fight against Covid-19, RWAs and MTAs should be advised not to allow their residents, shopkeepers and customers without mask in their respective areas/public places.”

The DDMA order directed the officials concerned to conduct surprise checking and take strict penal action against those violating the instructions.

It, however, allowed restaurants, bars and auditoriums to function at 50 per cent their capacity with a ceiling of 200 people in a wedding-related gathering.

The DDMA order came as the Centre also, in an advisory, asked all the states to activate their “war rooms” and bring back curbs, including night curfews, to contain the spread of Covid-19 and its deadly variant, Omicron.

The Centre’s advisory also listed a number of prevention and containment measures, including extensive testing and regulation of gatherings.