A passenger on the Delhi Metro. Metro services resumed after a gap of five months (Source: Twitter/DMRC)Coronavirus India News Live Updates: After five months of suspension, metro rail services resumed in selected parts of the country. With facemasks and social distancing protocols being mandatory, only asymptomatic people will be allowed to board the trains. Tokens or cash transactions are discouraged and only smartcards are allowed in many cities. Based on central guidelines, the metro authorities of Delhi, Noida, Chennai, Kochi, Bengaluru, Mumbai Line-1, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Maha Metro (Nagpur), Kolkata, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh have prepared their standard operating procedures. Maharashtra will not be resuming the metro operation this month.
India has emerged as the country with the second-largest number of people infected with novel coronavirus, having overtaken Brazil on Saturday when it added more than 90,000 new infections, a fresh record. As on Saturday, India had more than 41.13 lakh confirmed infections, of which more than 8.62 lakh were active cases. Only the United States, where more than 61 lakh people have so far been found to be infected, is ahead of India. Haryana leader Deepender Hooda, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac are among the politicians who tested positive on Sunday.
In another news, the Russian research institute has now submitted “comprehensive data” on the safety and efficacy of Sputnik V vaccine to Indian authorities. As this “comprehensive data” is evaluated by experts in India, one option, sources said, is to have a separate Phase 3 clinical trial after necessary approvals from regulators here. In fact, according to the official Sputnik V website, run by sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund, Russia plans to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials in many countries, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Brazil, and the Philippines.
At a testing centre in New Delhi (Express photo/Amit Mehra)
At least two MLAs and 37 government staffers who were to attend the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra legislature from Monday have tested positive for Covid-19. Sources said that while around 2,200 people, including legislators and government officials, have been tested since Saturday, the reports of some are yet to come in. Maharashtra’s legislators are set to converge at the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai for a two-day Monsoon Session – the first since the pandemic – amid strict safety measures place by the Legislative Secretariat.
Talk less, avoid commuting unnecessarily and travel light — as Delhi Metro resumes operations in the capital after 169 days on Monday amid the Covid pandemic, authorities have asked commuters to follow guidelines to help stop the virus spread. Services started in a staggered manner, with the Yellow Line (Samyapur Badli in Delhi-HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon) and the Rapid Metro in Gurgaon the first to be made operational. Remaining lines will restart gradually by September 12.