The Delhi government has imposed night curfew from 11 pm to 6 am on December 31 and January 1 to avoid large gatherings during New Year celebrations due to Covid-19 and its highly transmissible UK strain.

The night curfew will be imposed from 11 pm on December 31 to 6 am on January 1, and again from 11 pm on January 1 to 6 am on January 2, said an order issued on Wednesday by Vijay Dev, Delhi Chief Secretary and chairman of the Executive Committee of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).

It stated that not more than five people will be allowed to assemble at public places in Delhi during night curfew to avoid large gatherings in view of Covid-19.

However, there will be no restriction on the interstate and intrastate movement of people and goods during night curfew in Delhi, the chief secretary said in the order.

"A detailed assessment of the situation in Delhi has been made and considering the threat posed by the UK mutant strain of Covid-19 and after observing local incidents of Covid-19 pandemic in Delhi, it is apprehended that the gatherings, congregations and public celebrations of the new year pose a considerable threat of the spread of the virus and may cause a setback to appreciable gains made in the suppression of chain of transmission of Covid-19 cases in Delhi," the order said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs in its advisory on December 28 had advised states and Union Territories that they can impose local restrictions, including night curfew, based on their assessment of the situation to contain the spread of COVID-19.

All the district magistrates and deputy commissioners of police in Delhi will ensure strict compliance of the night curfew restriction.

A total of 33 people, including 20 UK returnees and their contacts, all of whom have tested positive for the coronavirus, are admitted to a special ward at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) in the national capital. Genome sequencing report has shown seven of them so far are infected with the mutant UK strain.

The Delhi government is carrying out a district-level contact-tracing and testing drive for people who returned from the UK from November 25 onwards, and their contacts.

According to the latest health bulletin issued by the Delhi government, the city recorded 677 fresh COVID-19 cases and 21 fatalities on Wednesday, bringing the infection tally to over 6.24 lakh and the death toll to 10,523.