Fully vaccinated people can use Mumbai local trains from 15 Aug; check steps to generate e-pass here

Fully vaccinated people can travel on the Mumbai local trains starting 15 August, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced on Sunday.However, Uddhav added that only those who have completed 14 days after the second dose of the vaccine would be allowed on the trains.Thackeray said that the government would launch a mobile application for issuing railway passes. Passengers would have to provide details of their vaccination and the number of days that have passed since their second dose.The passes will be issued after verifying the details and will have a quick response code, or QR code, as proof of authenticity.Passengers who do not have smartphones can get the passes through the suburban railway stations or municipal offices.Check steps to download e-pass for establishments here:- Visit the official website of the Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation department of Maharashtra: msdmacov19.mahait.org.- Click on the ‘Universal Travel Pass’ on the home page- Click on the ‘Register Your Establishment’ option. This is a one-time activity for every establishment, which must also provide the details of a single point of contact or coordinator to administer the required information- A new window will open. You will have to enter the establishment details such as number of staff and details of the coordinator- After entering the details, select ‘I agree to the conditions’ and click submit. A message will appear, saying the registration was successful- Once the details are verified by the Disaster Management authority of the district, the coordinator can upload the information using the CSV format on the website. After uploading the information, the staff members will get an SMS to download the travel pass- Staff members can go on the website and click on the option ‘Download Travel Pass’. They must log in using their mobile number and OTP- Once they log in, they have to upload a photo to generate the pass. They can then download the e-pass for future referenceThe decision to open the Mumbai local trains to fully vaccinated passengers comes after over 19 lakh people have been fully vaccinated in the city. Earlier, only essential service staffers and government employees were allowed to travel on the trains.The Maharashtra chief minister said that decisions on further relaxations of COVID-19 restrictions in the state would be taken soon. Thackeray also warned that while the government was relaxing some norms, it could re-impose a lockdown if the number of cases rises again.On 2 August, Maharashtra had announced some relaxations in the norms for restaurants, malls, and salons. In Mumbai, shops and establishments have been allowed to remain open till 10 pm on all days while restaurants and hotels were allowed to stay open until 4 pm during the week.On 8 August, Maharashtra reported 5,508 new COVID-19 cases and 151 deaths. The number of active cases in the state stands at 71,510.