BMC states around 30 lakh people fully vaccinated against COVID to travel in local trains

As Maharashtra continues its efforts to combat COVID-19, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Iqbal Chahal on Monday informed that the vaccination drive has been successful. He said around 30 lakh fully vaccinated individuals will be allowed to travel in the local trains. The announcement comes as Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had announced the people, who have taken both the doses of COVID-19 vaccine, can avail Mumbai local train services from August 15.

Fully vaccinated citizens gain access to local trains

Confirming the decision to allow vaccinated people to use the local trains, Chahal told ANI that the service will start on Independence Day. "Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had announced the people who have taken both the doses of COVID-19 vaccine can avail Mumbai local train services from August 15. We have around 19 lakh people in Mumbai who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 56 lakh who are vaccinated with one dose,” the BMC Commissioner said. "The local trains run in BMC as well as in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) areas, where around 12 lakh people are fully vaccinated. So, around 30 lakh people will be allowed to travel in the local trains as they are fully vaccinated," he further added.

Explaining the safety setups while reopening the train services, the BMC Commissioner said that the individuals will be handed a photo pass which includes their vaccination certificate. "After the announcement of the reopening of the local train, we had a meeting with Railways and before that, we had a meeting on last Thursday. We are trying to get the photo passes for the 30-lakh people without any hassle for long lines. The photo passes will have their vaccination certificate and their photo which will help them to avail the local train," the official said. 

Following the announcement, Chahal requested the people of Mumbai get vaccinated as soon as possible. "I request to the citizen of Mumbai that your fully vaccinated certificate is your immunity certificate. In future, if the malls re-open the certificate may be the requirement and during the COVID pandemic, you won't be able to travel through the local train if you don't have your vaccine certificate. We have a target of getting the people of Mumbai to get fully vaccinated by November 15 to November 30 this year," he said.

COVID situation in Maharashtra, Mumbai

According to the health department, Maharashtra on Monday saw a fall in fresh COVID cases, as the state reported 4,505 new coronavirus cases as compared to 5,508 on Sunday. Meanwhile, the state recorded 68 new fatalities while the recoveries stood at 7,568. Mumbai reported 208 fresh cases yesterday, making it the lowest daily tally since April last year. The financial capital saw three fatalities while 372 patients recovered from the virus. The city’s average recovery rate now stands at 97 per cent.   

(With inputs from agencies)
IMAGE: PTI