Delhi government issued an advisory on Monday morning banning the import of processed and packaged food in the national capital as bird flu cases continue to rise across states.

Delhi also reported bird flu cases on Monday morning as samples of some of the birds that died in Delhi recently were found positive for avian flu.

Announcing the decision, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said on Monday, “I would request the general public to not panic, the government is taking all precautionary measures. It has been decided to impose a restriction on the supply of processed chicken from outside Delhi.”

The samples that were collected from Delhi's Sanjay Lake have tested positive for bird flu and Sisodia has said the area is undergoing cleaning.

All eight samples -- four from a park in Mayur Vihar Phase 3, three from Sanjay Lake and one from Dwarka -- have been found positive for avian influenza, Dr Rakesh Singh from the animal husbandry unit of the Development Department said.

A drive to cull ducks has begun at the famous Sanjay Lake, where several ducks were found dead in the last few days. Seventeen more ducks were found dead at Sanjay Lake on Sunday, prompting authorities to declare it an "alert zone".