With stricter restrictions to check the COVID-19 spread coming into force in Maharashtra, the state police on Friday reintroduced the e-pass system for inter-state and inter-district travel in "extreme emergency" situations, a top police official said.

Fresh restrictions on travel, attendance in offices and wedding functions announced by the Maharashtra government came into force on Thursday night. The state, which has facing an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases, was already under severe restrictions since April 14 and the fresh "lockdown- like" curbs were announced on Wednesday.

Maharashtra DGP Sanjay Pandey said, "The e-pass system has been reintroduced from Friday and citizens should use it in case of absolute emergency."

People have to apply onhttps://covid19.mhpolice.in/ and submit the necessary documents and mention the reason for their extreme emergency travel.

"But those who do not have access to online e-pass system, can visit the nearest police station to procure it. The personnel at the police station will help in filling the form and issue the e-pass," Pandey said.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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E-pass system reintroduced in Maharashtra for emergency travel during curbs

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