Coronavirus update: Metros back on track Sept 7; many regular trains to go

Delhi has registered a 50 per cent jump in deaths per day on an average due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the last three weeks — to 18 / day (August 27-September 2, 2020) from 12 (Aug 13-19) — according to the Union ministry.

• Fatalities in five states make up 70 per cent of India’s death toll: Maharashtra (37.39 per cent), Tamil Nadu (11.16 per cent), Karnataka (8.83 per cent), Delhi (6.65 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (6.12 per cent).
• The daily average death toll also rose in Karnataka to 125 from 114 after dipping to 108. 
• The Narendra Modi government September 2, 2020 decided to restart metro railway in India, except Maharashtra. The trains, a lifeline especially in Capital Delhi, stopped plying as the country locked down to curb the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
• The resumption will be in phases. Delhi Metro, the largest among the services, will reopen in three stages, starting September 7. Trains will initially ply only four hours each in mornings and evenings. 
• On the other hand, 500 regular trains and 10,000 stops may be taken off the Indian Railways grid, when services resume thoroughly, the Indian Express daily reported.
• The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences suspended its out-patient department services for two weeks, starting Sept 2, to focus on COVID-19 patients.
• The United States has suddenly geared up on COVID-19 vaccination. The US Centre for DIsease Control and Prevention has asked state health officials to be ready to roll out a vaccine late October, which will be just ahead of the presidential elections there, news agency Reuters reported.
• Some 33 prisoners in Bhondsi jail, Gurgaon, have been infected.