New Delhi, November 5: The Delhi government has decided to ban firecrackers, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Thursday. On Twitter, Arvind Kejriwal said the decision was taken at a meeting to review the coronavirus situation as the national capital is witnessing a sharp rise in cases. The Chief Minister said COVID-19 cases are rising because of the festival season and rising pollution.

"Reviewed corona situation in Del n preparedness wid Chief Secy, Health officials and all DMs. Corona cases hv increased due to festival season n pollution. It was decided to 1. Ban crackers in Del 2. Ramp up medical infra, Oxy n ICU beds are being increased in Del govt hospis (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted. Delhi recorded a single-day spike of 6,842 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest so far, taking the total Delhi tally to 4,09,938. Delhi Witnessing Third COVID-19 Wave, Says Arvind Kejriwal After Biggest Single-Day Spike in Coronavirus Cases.

The Chief Minister also informed that the Delhi government had approached the Supreme Court to vacate the stay imposed by the Delhi High Court on the administration’s order of reserving 80 percent of the intensive care unit (ICU) beds for COVID-19 patients in 33 private hospitals. "We hope SC will lift the stay keeping in view the critical situation," he said in another tweet. Diwali 2020: Firecrackers Sale Banned in Rajasthan to Protect COVID-19 Patients and Public from Their Ill-Effects.

Firecrackers Banned in Delhi, Announces Arvind Kejriwal:

The Rajasthan government took the first step and has banned the sale of firecrackers in view of protecting the health of the corona-infected patients as well as keeping in view the health of the common people, who might feel uneasy with the smoke emanating from firecrackers. Odisha and West Bengal followed the suit and banned bursting of firecrackers during the festive season.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 05, 2020 06:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).