The Delhi Government has decided to ban community Chhath Puja celebrations near the ghats to contain the spread of COVID-19, said Health Minister Satyender Jain on Thursday.

“In view of safety and to avoid crowd gathering amid the pandemic, we have decided to ban community Chhath Puja celebrations near the ghats this year. The officials have been directed to take strict action against people not following COVID-19 protocols,” Jain said.

The COVID-19 cases have been rapidly increased in national capital and touched a news peak by crossing 8,000 positive cases in the past 24 hours. It recorded 8,593 new positive cases and 85 deaths on Wednesday while 7,264 patients recovered from the infection. The death rate so far stands at 1.57 per cent while it remained at 0.99 per cent in the last 10 days.