New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced sweeping restrictions, including a weekend curfew and the closure of malls, gyms, spas and auditoriums, in a bid to break the chain of Covid – 19 infections in the city.

There will be no in-house dining in restaurants and cinema halls will be allowed to operate with only 30 per cent capacity, the Chief Minister said at an online press conference a day after the city recorded the biggest single-day jump 17,282 new Covid -19 cases. Arvind Kejriwal said essential services and weddings will not be affected during the weekend curfew and passes will be provided to those attending weddings.

Delhi become the worst Covid – 19 affected city in the country with 17, 282 new cases in a single day, it surpassed the Mumbai City which has highest Covid – 19 cases recorded in the past.

According to the official sources Mumbai’s single day peak so far 11,163, registered on April 4. The Covid – 19 cases surge reported on Wednesday, Bengaluru recorded 8,155 cases, Chennai 2,564, their highest daily surge. Pune’s highest single-day since the pandemic began was 12,494 cases, recorded on April 4.

Delhi recorded 17,282 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, the highest single-day surge since the onset of the pandemic, while over 100 fatalities were reported, according to the Health Department sources.

The unprecedented surge in cases, especially in the last few days, has also left doctors and medical experts baffled, with some conjecturing that the virus has mutated and assumed so many different strains, some of which are far more transmissible than others. According to the Wednesday bulletin, 104 new fatalities were recorded, pushing the number of deaths to 11,540.

These new positive cases came out of record 1.08 lakh tests conducted on Tuesday, the bulletin said, adding, the positivity rate mounted to 15.92 per cent, also the highest so far. The cases in Delhi have since April 11 been on an upward spiral, 13,468 cases on Tuesday, and eventually 17,282 cases on Wednesday.