Coronavirus pandemic | Lockdown may extend in Mumbai, Pune till May 18: Report

The extension of lockdown, however, may not be enforced in the entire Mumbai and Pune cities and could be limited only for the containment zones, said Tope.

Moneycontrol News

April 25, 2020 / 15:22 IST

The Maharashtra government is likely to continue the lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in Mumbai and Pune till May 18 as the two cities witnessing continue spike in COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope has said in a report by Mint.

The extension of lockdown, however, may not be enforced in the entire Mumbai and Pune cities and could be limited only for the containment zones, said the report quoting Tope.

“We have to ensure that all the containment zones are completely cordoned off. If required, we will extend the lockdown for 15 more days after 3 May only for the containment zones, if not for the entire Mumbai and Pune,” Tope said as per the report.

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The main objective of implementing the lockdown was to stop the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and if the spread is not getting contained, the State has to extend the lockdown, Tope 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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