Weekend curfew brings Delhi-NCR to a halt

The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has hit India severely, and one of the worst-hit is Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). With Delhi registering upwards of 10,000 cases on a daily basis, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced a weekend curfew, which will be in force from Friday night through the early morning of Monday.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru is under night curfew, which is likely to be extended to contain the surge of the Covid-19 cases. Mumbai, one of the most-impacted cities in the country, has imposed a 15-day curfew with strict curbs on public activities.

Fortune India’s photo team travelled across Delhi-NCR to chronicle how the curfew has affected the region.

A shopping complex in Delhi wears a deserted look.

The chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, has repeatedly stressed that the main reason behind imposing the curfew was to break the chain of transmission of the viral infection.

On Friday, Delhi saw a record 19,486 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest ever since the start of the pandemic. All non-essential movement of individuals during the period of the curfew is prohibited.

The CM has, however, stressed that this curfew has been declared only for this weekend, and its extension will be decided only after monitoring the situation.

A deserted view of the AIIMS flyover during the weekend curfew.

Barricades put up by the Delhi Police at New Delhi's India Gate to check the movement of vehicles during the weekend curfew.

A barricade on the Delhi-Noida-Delhi highway.

A barricade on the Delhi-Noida-Delhi highway.

A deserted view of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.

A deserted view of Chandni Chowk, in Old Delhi.

New Delhi's iconic Connaught Place wears a deserted look.

A deserted look of New Delhi's Connaught Place.

A deserted view of the road approaching Red Fort in Old Delhi.

A queue for Covid-19 testing at a community centre in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Covid-19 testing at Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

A healthcare worker collects a swab sample from a boy for a Covid-19 test at a community centre in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Swab samples for Covid-19 testing at a community centre in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Senior citizens queue up to receive a shot of the Covid-19 vaccine at a government hospital in Bengaluru, where a night curfew has been imposed.

Marine Drive wears a deserted look after restrictions were imposed by the state government amidst rising Covid-19 cases, in Mumbai.

Migrant workers queue up to enter a railway station to leave the city ahead of a lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19 in Mumbai.