Fully vaccinated people will be allowed to board local trains in Mumbai from August 15, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said at a press briefing on Sunday. Commuters will be allowed on trains 14 days after the second shot of their vaccines.
“We will launch an app [mobile application] where people can update if they have taken both doses and when they took their second dose,” Thackeray said. “Passengers who do not have a smartphone can take photo passes from municipal ward offices in the city as well as suburban railway stations.”
The passes will have a quick response code, or QR code, to prove the authenticity of the vaccination status.
The chief minister warned that while the state government was allowing some relaxation in Covid-19 norms, they will have to resort to a lockdown again if the number of cases rise. The local train service is currently open to only essential service workers. Regular operations were shut down in April during the second wave of the pandemic.
Earlier on Sunday evening, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced some relaxations in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad districts, ANI reported. From Monday, hotels and restaurants will be allowed to operate till 10 pm on all days with 50% seating capacity, Pawar said.
Shopping malls in the two districts have also been allowed to remain open till 8 pm on all days. However, only those who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to enter. The mall staff must also be vaccinated, Pawar said.
On Sunday, Maharashtra reported 5,508 new cases of coronavirus and 151 deaths due to the infection. The active case tally in the state stood at 71,510.
State Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that the number of cases of the Delta Plus sub-lineage of the infection has increased from 21 to 45 in Maharashtra. “For the last one [to] one-and-a-half months, Covid cases [in Maharashtra] have increased from 6,000 to 7,000-8,000 per day,” he told ANI. “There is neither a big increase nor a decline in fresh cases, we are seeing a plateau.”
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