New Delhi, Apr 17 (IANS): Hours after the weekend curfew began in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday appealed to the citizens to follow the guidelines imposed by the state government to win the war against Covid-19.

The weekend lockdown came into force from 10 pm on Friday. This is for the first time this year the national capital will witness strict prohibition on weekend and is likely to be extended if cases continue to rise.

"in view of the Covid-19, a curfew has been imposed in Delhi on Saturday and Sunday. Please follow it. We all have to defeat the pandemic together," Kejriwal tweeted.

With the alarming situation due to the exponential rise in Covid-19 cases in the national capital, the state government has on Thursday announced to impose weekend curfew (from Friday 10 pm to Monday 5 am), while the other restriction will continue till April 30.

Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has already made it clear that only essential services are exempted from the restrictions. Interstate transport will continue uninterrupted.

There will be no restrictions on movement for medical purposes and home delivery of food will be allowed.

All markets, malls, gyms, spas, auditoriums, and swimming pools will be closed. No dining-out in restaurants. Only home delivery food services will be allowed during the weekend lockdown.

Delhi has been reporting over 10k new cases daily for the last nearly one week. A total of 19,484 fresh Covid-19 cases were reported in Delhi on Friday night, the highest single-day spike in the capital so far.