More States Grant Relaxations in Covid Protocols, New Zealand Placed under Lockdown after a Single Positive Case in Six Months

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Aug 17: As India recorded lowest-ever new Coronavirus cases in the last154 days registering only 25,166 new cases and 437 deaths in the last 24 hours on Tuesday, several states granted further relaxations in Covid protocols to ease the normal life.

According to data from the Union Health Ministry, of the total new cases, Kerala alone reported 12,294 new cases and 142 deaths while Maharashtra had 4,145 new infections and 101 fatalities. Active cases in the country have come down to 3.69 lakh. A central team led by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has reached Kerala to review the COVID-19 situation in the state which is presently accounting for more than half of the nation’s daily fresh infection caseload.

India also reported a record in vaccination in a single day administering over 88.13 lakh vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, the highest ever vaccination achieved in a single day. Cumulatively, 55,47,30,609 vaccine doses have been administered through 62,12,108 sessions across India, as per the provisional report.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a tweet, “India achieves the highest single-day record in #COVID19 vaccine doses. Yesterday will go down in the history of the world’s #LargestVaccineDrive. Congratulations.”

The union health ministry also reported that more than 56.81 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been provided to states and Union Territories so far through all sources. Of these, the total consumption, including wastage, is 54,22,75,723 doses. More than 2.89 crore (2,89,47,890) balance and unutilised COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states, UTs, and private hospitals which are yet to be administered, the ministry stated. The Union government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination drive throughout the country, it said.

In contrast to the relaxations being increasingly granted in various states in the country as the number of cases started dipping, New Zealand has been placed under a strict lockdown for three days after reporting just one positive case.

The New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put the nation under strict lockdown on Tuesday after one new case of the coronavirus was reported in its largest city of Auckland, the country’s first in six months. All of New Zealand will be in lockdown for three days from Wednesday while Auckland and Coromandel, a coastal town that the infected person had also spent time in, will be in lockdown for seven days. Imposing its toughest level 4 lockdown rules, schools, offices and all businesses will be shut down and only essential services will be operational.

The Assam government, which so far was following stringent rules, on Tuesday relaxed the curfew timings in the state and allowed inter-district movement of passengers except to and from Kamrup Metropolitan district. The new guidelines, which also permit the opening of final year classes of technical education, will be effective from 5 am on Wednesday until further orders, the state government said.

Also, as per the revised guidelines, all shops, commercial establishments, offices, banks, will be allowed to remain open till 6 pm and curfew will be clamped from 7 pm to 5 am. Hotels, resorts, bars, will also be allowed to remain open till 6 pm, though cinema halls will remain closed. Movement of goods carrying vehicles was already allowed and public transport between the districts remained suspended. The odd-even rule for plying of vehicles has been lifted.

Public meetings in open spaces will be allowed with a maximum of 200 people and in auditoriums, with 50 per cent seating capacity, and all attendees must be fully vaccinated, with the onus to ensure compliance on the organisers. For marriages, last rites, etc, the number of people permitted to attend has been increased to 25 by the new guidelines. Iconic religious places have also been allowed to open for devotees with permission given for 20 visitors per hour, while for other religious places, the number of devotees has been fixed at 10.

The government also exempted fully vaccinated incoming people carrying the latest Covid-19 negative report from mandatory testing for the virus on arrival in the state. The order will come into immediate effect, but the exemption will not be applicable for symptomatic passengers, a notification issued by the Health and Family Welfare department said.

All incoming passengers who have been vaccinated with two doses of Covid-19 vaccine will be exempted from mandatory testing on arrival at airports, railway stations, road border points, etc, it said. The passengers must possess a negative Covid test report taken within 72 hours of their arrival in Assam, it added.

“However, passengers who are symptomatic shall have to undergo mandatory RT-PCR testing at their own cost on arrival at airports, railway stations, etc. in Assam,” the notification read.

After remaining closed for nearly four months, the Delhi government’s tourism department has resumed boating in the Naini Lake situated in north Delhi, officials said on Tuesday. The Naini Lake is situated at Model Town under the jurisdiction of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The Delhi High Court also dismissed a petition challenging the authorities’ decision to permit 100 per cent seating in Delhi Metro and buses plying in the national capital during the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it is for the competent authorities to take a call on regulation of public transport.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said if every user of public transport or citizen is permitted to raise such issues and challenge the government decision, there would be no end to such petitions. The bench said it is a policy decision taken by the competent authorities after examining the situation and the court cannot interfere with it.

No RTPCR report is needed for those visiting Pune from outside Maharashtra if they have taken both doses of the Covid vaccine, according to a revised order from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). For others who are still awaiting vaccination, an RTPCR report — not older than 72 hours — is mandatory or they will have to quarantine for 14 days after entering the city. Commercial establishments, including shops and restaurants, have been directed to ensure their staff is inoculated with both doses.

Public grounds and parks in Mumbai will now be allowed to remain open on all days between 6 am and 10 pm as per an order issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Under the previous rules parks were allowed to be open only till 9 pm. The state government has eased a number of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions with the new rules coming into effect from Sunday.

Train travel commenced from Sunday with fully vaccinated people being allowed to travel by suburban network provided they have been vaccinated with the second dose at least 14 days earlier.

The West Bengal government has allowed all production units, mills and industries, including the IT and ITES sector, to function at full strength in normal working hours as part of its relaxations of the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. The order issued by chief secretary HK Dwivedi on Monday evening said the relaxations have been allowed provided employees are vaccinated and COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and protocols are fully maintained. The additional relaxations also included the opening of museums, including ASI protected monuments and entertainment parks with not more than 50 per cent capacity at a time and compliance with COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and protocols.

The state government had extended the COVID-19 restrictions in the state till August 31 and allowed all shops and establishments, including restaurants and bars, to remain open up to the usual working hours but not beyond 10.30 pm. The state has also allowed outdoor government programmes by maintaining physical distancing and health and hygiene protocols. Theatre halls, auditoriums, open-air theatres, stadiums and swimming pools would be allowed to open with not more than 50 per cent of seating capacity at a time, the order said. The relaxations were announced after a review of the COVID-19 situation by the state executive committee of the West Bengal state disaster management authority.

In Bihar, schools re-opened for students of classes 1 to 8 on Monday. A school teacher said it is mandatory for students to wear masks, maintain hand hygiene and follow physical distancing.