Delhi govt-run coronavirus vaccination centres to open for 24 hours from today

To deal with the alarming rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, the vaccination centres in Delhi will operate for 24 hours at all government-run hospitals in the national capital from Tuesday onwards.

As per an order issued by the Delhi Health Department on Monday, the hospital authorities under the purview of the Delhi government have been directed to operate one-third of the vaccination centres from 9 pm to 9 am.

The decision has been taken to speed up the ongoing vaccination drive in the capital.

"In order to accelerate the pace of Covid-19 vaccination, it has been decided that the timing of functioning of the Covid vaccination centres should be further increased. As per the order with effect from April 6, one-third of the vaccination sites in all the Delhi government hospitals will also function from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m," said the order issued by S Sunil, Deputy Secretary of Health and Family Welfare.

In the first phase of coronavirus vaccination which commenced on January 16, the time for inoculation was fixed between 9 am to 5 pm. The Delhi government had earlier extended the vaccination time from 9 am to 9 pm.

Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) hospital, one of the biggest healthcare centres under the Delhi government dedicated to COVID-19, has already started a vaccination site between 9 pm to 9 am.

The national capital on Monday reported 3,548 new COVID-19 cases, taking its overall tally to 6,79,962, while its test positivity rate stood at 5.54 per cent, according to the health bulletin released by the Delhi government.

This is the fourth consecutive day that Delhi reported more than 3,500 new cases. On Sunday, the national capital had reported 4,033 new cases, the highest single-day tally in 2021. The city had reported 3,567 new cases on April 3, and 3,594 cases on April 2.