In a major announcement by the Chief Minister of Maharshtra Uddhav Thackeray it was declared that fully vaccinated people can travel in Mumbai local trains from August 15. However, a gap of 14 days is mandatory after taking the second dose to board the trains. Fully vaccinated people will have to get their train passes, that will be available on smartphones, ward offices and suburban railway stations. "Passengers can download train passes through the mobile app. Those who do not have smartphones can take photo passes from municipal ward offices in the city as well as suburban railway stations," the chief minister said during his address to the state.
Earlier, the Maharashtra government had indicated that it will soon take a decision on allowing fully vaccinated people to travel by Mumbai locals. Mumbai local was opened for the general public with some time restrictions in February just ahead of the arrival of the second wave. As of now, only specific categories of travellers related to essential and emergency services are allowed to travel in Mumbai local trains. Speaking in a live webcast, the chief minister also said that his government was considering more relaxations for shops, malls, restaurants and places of religious worship and a decision would be taken after a meeting of the task force on Monday. Earlier, the state government had eased Covid curbs in 14 districts with lowest Covid positivity rate.