New Delhi, May 29: To protect people vulnerable to COVID-19, the Indian Railways on Friday appealed that persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, children below the age of 10 years and persons above 65 years should avoid travel by rail. The Railways said that these people should travel only in case of emergency. The appeal was made in line with the Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines regarding travel by train.  Lockdown 5.0 Strategy: Amit Shah Seeks Views of Chief Ministers on COVID-19 Shutdown.

The Railways stated, “It has been observed that some people who are availing this service have pre-existing medical conditions which aggravate the risk they face during the COVID-19 pandemic. A few unfortunate cases of deaths related to pre-existing medical conditions while travelling have happened.”  Recently, several deaths were reported aboard Shramik Special trains that have been deployed to ferry stranded migrants. However, the Indian Railways said that most of these deaths were due to existing illnesses.

In the third phase of the lockdown, the MHA had issued guidelines for all those willing to take the train journey. According to the standard operating procedure for movement of persons by train, All passengers will be compulsorily screened, and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to enter/board the train. All the passengers were also asked to maintain social distancing and to wear masks.

The Indian Railways transported over 48 lakh stranded migrant workers in 26 days in 3,543 Shramik Special trains that started operating since May 1. A railway ministry official on Wednesday said, "As on May 27, a total of 3,543 Shramik Special trains have been operated from various states across the country and till date 48 lakh people have been ferried in last 26 days.”

India on Thursday witnessed the highest spike of 7,466 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours. Till now, 1,65,799 have contracted COVID-19 in the country. The death toll also mounted to 4,706. According to the health ministry, there are 89,987 active cases, while 71,105 people have been recovered from the disease.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 29, 2020 12:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).