Fully vaccinated people can travel on local trains from August 15: Thackeray

Fully vaccinated people will be allowed to travel on local trains by registering themselves through an app, Uddhav Thackeray said.

Fully vaccinated people will be allowed to travel on local trains in Mumbai from August 15 a fortnight after they receive their second dose, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced on Sunday. Uddhav Thackeray said those who have taken both doses of the vaccine against coronavirus disease (Covid-19) 15 days ago will be allowed to travel on these trains. "Mumbai has 19 lakh people who have taken both their doses. They will be allowed to travel by registering themselves through an app," Thackeray said while addressing the citizens of the state on social media.

Thackeray also said that the decision over relaxations to hotels, restaurants, malls and religious places will be taken on Monday. (PTI File Photo)

Thackeray said those who do not have smartphones can take photo passes from municipal ward offices in the city as well as suburban railway stations. "Unless the vaccination is completed, we will have to tread very cautiously," the Maharashtra chief minister said.

Thackeray's announcement came as the state has seen a drop in daily cases of Covid-19, which have been logged between 6,000 and 7,000 for the past few days. Maharashtra recorded 41,774 cases in seven days till Saturday, compared to the first week of July when 61,489 infections were recorded. There were 5,508 new Covid-19 cases and 151 related deaths in the last 24 hours, news agency ANI reported on Sunday, which have taken the tally to 63,53,328 and the toll to 133,996.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday that a decision on further relaxations, including reopening of local train services, will be made in the next few days. Thackeray also said that the decision over relaxations to hotels, restaurants, malls and religious places will be taken on Monday during the meeting of the Covid-19 task force and finalise the standard operating procedures (SOPs).

"I have requested industries and private offices to stagger office timings and set up field hospitals as part of the preparedness for the third wave," Thackeray said.

"We have decided to relax some activities. But if the number [of Covid-19 cases] rise again, a lockdown will be imposed again. It will be linked with the oxygen bed availability in the districts," he said.

The chief minister also pointed out that six districts are still a cause of worry as the number of Covid-19 cases in these areas is still high. "Pune, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Beed are still reporting a high number of cases," he said.

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar announced relaxations in Covid restrictions in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad from August 9. "Even though some relaxations have been given for now, but if positivity rate goes above 7 per cent in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad areas, the restrictions will be imposed like earlier. Hence, everyone must follow the guidelines so that cases do not increase," he said.