Unlock 5.0 | Maharashtra allows gyms to open after Dussehra, asks operators to follow COVID-19 SOPs

Gyms and fitness centres in Maharashtra are likely to open from October 25.

Moneycontrol News

October 17, 2020 / 23:22 IST

Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra

A day after allowing women to travel in local trains from October 17 during a fixed time slot, the Maharashtra government allowed gyms and fitness centres to resume operations after Dussehra. However, the state administration clearly mentioned that the operators need to strictly follow the Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) for COVID-19 protection.

With the new announcement, the closed gyms in Maharashtra are most likely to open from October 25. Though the Union government had allowed gyms to operate in its Unlock 5.0 guidelines, the Maharashtra government didn't allow gyms to reopen.

"Gymnasiums and fitness centres are for the welfare of citizens, so care should be taken to ensure that there is no virus spread. The SoPs should be strictly followed," PTI quoted Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as saying while referring to standard operating procedures.

Maharashtra government allows women to travel in local trains from Oct 17 during fixed time slots.

Meanwhile, cinema theatres, religious places, swimming pools — which have been allowed to resume functioning elsewhere — are still not allowed to open in Maharashtra.

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.

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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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