People wait for their turn at a vaccination centre in Pune (Express photo by Pavan Khengre) With those allowed to work during the restriction period in Pune being asked to either get vaccinated or furnish a negative RT-PCR test report every 15 days, there has been a crowding at swab collection centres across the city with many coming forward to get themselves tested.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is planning to further increase the number of centres for vaccination and testing in the city.
Over the last few days, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has issued several guidelines on restrictions in the city. Based on the directions of the state government, it has allowed all essential services to operate as usual.
Among the sectors that have been allowed to operate, albeit with certain restrictions, are the manufacturing industry, the construction sector, the banking sector and the financial institutes, E-commerce, courier services, and order and takeaway services from eateries and restaurants.
Moreover, autorickshaws, cabs and private buses, housemaids, media offices, Information Technology (IT) staff linked to server management, teachers imparting online education from schools, marriage halls, and government and private security agencies can also operate while following all the necessary protocols.
However, it categorically directed the employees of the sectors allowed to operate during the restriction period to get vaccinated as per eligibility criteria or get a negative RT-PCR test report every 15 days.
“Any person who violates these rules will be fined Rs 1,000 while the organisation where the person is working will be penalised with Rs 10,000. If the violations are frequent, then the PMC will either suspend the license or ban operations till the end of pandemic,” PMC has said.
The PMC has also urged all establishments that are shut due to restrictions to get their staff vaccinated during the period so that it would help in smooth operations after normalcy is restored in the city.
“There are many in essential services who are less than 45 years old and are not yet eligible for vaccination. Thus, they will have to get a negative RT-PCR report for Covid every 15 days. However, this will put their lives at risk while visiting the swab collection centre for the tests as Covid patients may also turn up there,” said Rakesh Shinde, owner of a small manufacturing unit.
He further said since there has been a lot of crowding at vaccination centres, many people may not get the jab by April 10.
Meanwhile, the PMC is trying to increase the number of vaccination centres as well as swab collection centres across the city. “The Centre has given permission to 65 new hospitals to set up vaccination centres,” said additional municipal commissioner Rubal Agarwal.
Also, the PMC is planning to increase the number of swab collection centres. There are only 17 such centres in the city now.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
