Bombay: The suburban
local train services in the city could finally resume for all Mumbaikars in January, Minister of Relief and Rehabilitation
Vijay wadettiwar he said Thursday.
While speaking to the media, Wadettiwar said that the decision to resume local trains will be made as soon as possible. “Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is positive about the plan to allow the general public to travel on local trains from the first week of the new year,” he said.
However, any official decision will only be made after proper evaluation of the spread of the new strain of coronavirus in the city and the state.
A few days ago, Wadettiwar had said that the state government has written to the Ministry of Railways regarding the resumption of suburban train services.
“We have been writing to the Ministry of Railways to open the suburban network to all travelers and it can be done at the beginning of January next year,” he had said.
At present, local trains are only accessible to essential service workers after showing a valid identity card. Women have also been allowed to ride the trains, but only during off-peak hours, from 11 am to 3 pm and from 7 pm to midnight.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has imposed a night curfew statewide through January 5, following mutation COVID-19 strain, which is touted as 70 percent more contagious than the existing one.
While no cases of the new strain have been recorded in Maharashtra, not even in all of India, the CM imposed a curfew as a precautionary measure in the middle of the Christmas and New Years holidays.
Mutant coronavirus strain: everything you need to know about the new variant
The new strain of coronavirus
Just as the world was ready to welcome the New Year, information about the identification of a new strain of coronavirus in the United Kingdom (UK) has created an air of panic and concern around the world. Even as vaccine development and distribution campaigns are taking place around the world, this new mutant variant of the virus has alarmed both experts and government authorities, leading to the imposition of new restrictions in several countries. Reuters photos
All about the new strain
The new COVID variant of the SARS-COV-2 virus has been called VUI – 202012/01 and is said to be 70% more contagious than the existing one. In London and other parts of the UK, the infection has spread like wildfire once again, forcing authorities to declare a complete lockdown with stricter rules and restrictions. Reuters photos
The initial cases
The first confirmed cases of the new strain of the virus were identified in mid-December this year in the UK, after which authorities announced that it was “out of control”. However, experts believe that the virus had been present in the region since September, but could not be detected because “there were no large-scale infections.” Reportedly, around 60 per cent of patients in the UK have been infected with the new variant. Photo: AFP
Countries that have reported cases of the new variant
Infections related to the new COVID-19 strain are currently highly concentrated in the UK, causing several countries to temporarily suspend the arrival of citizens from the region. Several cases have also been reported in South Africa, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia and Italy, while France recently suspected that the new variant could have entered the western European country as well. Photo: AFP
Is the new COVID-19 strain of concern?
Health experts in the UK and US said the strain appears to infect more easily than others, but there is no evidence yet that it is more deadly. The strain is also concerning because it has many mutations – nearly two dozen – and some are in the spikey protein that the virus uses to attach itself to and infect cells. That increase is the goal of current vaccines. AP Photo
What do the experts say?
Patrick Vallance, the British government’s chief scientific adviser, said the strain “is moving fast and is becoming the dominant strain.” “I’m worried about this, no doubt,” but it is too early to know how important it will ultimately prove, said Dr Ravi Gupta, who studies viruses at the University of Cambridge in England. “It’s okay to get serious,” said Peter Openshaw, professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London.
Are current vaccines effective?
Scientists say there is no evidence that vaccines currently being rolled out in the UK, made by Pfizer and BioNtech, or other COVID-19 injections in development do not protect against this variant. “This is unlikely to have more than a minor effect, if any, on the effectiveness of the vaccine,” said Adam Finn, a vaccine specialist and professor of pediatrics at the University of Bristol. According to Jeremy Farrar, director of the London-based research charity Wellcome Trust UK, there is currently no indication that the new strain bypasses treatments and vaccines. Reuters photos
New strain of COVID-19 not detected in India: ICMR
The mutant strain of coronavirus has not been seen in samples tested in various parts of India, reported Dr. Samiran Panda, director of the ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute (NARI). Speaking to ANI, Dr Panda said: “We have analyzed samples collected from various parts of the country and we have not seen the mutant strain found in the UK. We should not think that this will definitely come to India.”
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