COVID-19 Maharashtra Update: Lockdown extended in Amravati till March 8

The lockdown was imposed on February 22, after the district emerged as one of the hotspots in Maharashtra in the fresh coronavirus wave.

Moneycontrol News

February 27, 2021 / 17:14 IST

Yavatmal's District Collector M Devender Singh also announced a curfew in the district from February 27 to March 1.

The lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 has been extended in Maharashtra's Amravati till March 8. The lockdown was imposed on February 22, after the district emerged as one of the state's hotspots in the fresh coronavirus wave.

During the lockdown, shops, except those dealing in essential commodities, were ordered to remain shut along with educational institutions, coaching classes, training schools etc.

Cinema houses, gyms, swimming pools, parks have been ordered to remain shut and gatherings for entertainment, educational, cultural, religious purposes etc were not permitted.

Yavatmal's District Collector M Devender Singh also announced a curfew in the district from February 27 to March 1. The essential services are exempted from the curfew.

"Curfew imposed in Yavatmal district from 5 pm on Saturday to 9 am on Monday, essential services will continue during this curfew," Singh said, reported ANI.

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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