Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday that India has so far been able to avert community transmission of COVID-19. He expressed hope that “behavioural changes” brough about by coronavirus could become the “new normal” for a health society after the infection recedes. The liquor and wine shops in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh will be allowed to sell alcohol but at high prices as the states have decided to hike the prices amid strict social distancing norms in the wake of lockdown 3.0. Delhi government in its order issued late on Monday night, imposed a 70% special ‘Corona-fee’ on the minimum retail price (MRP) of alcohol in the national capital. The decision will be enforced from May 5 (Tuesday) onwards.
The Delhi Police will permit liquor shops in the national capital to remain open from 9 am to 6:30 pm beginning Tuesday (May 5). After witnessing chaos at the liqour shops across Andhra Pradesh, the state government has also hiked the alcohol prices by 75%. The government had earlier raised by 25% but that did not succeed in discouraging people from thronging the liquor shops. While, the stores are permitted to open from 11 am to 7 pm, people started queuing up much before the opening timings. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country jumped to 46,433 on Tuesday including 32,138 active cases, 12,726 recoveries, 1 migrated and 1,568 deaths, according to latest updates by the Union Health Ministry.
