Railways gears up to provide COVID care centres to states with over 5k modified coaches
Jun 11, 2020
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 11 : The Indian Railways is ready to provide COVID care centres to state authorities with a total of 5,231 modified coaches, with a patient capacity of 16 per coach, in trains with unit composition of 10 coaches.
The coaches have been converted into quarantine facility by the zonal Railways.
According to a release by the South Central Railway on Thursday, Uttar Pradesh has finalised 24 stations for deployment, while Telangana has asked for coaches to be stationed in 3 locations -- Secunderabad, Kachiguda and Adilabad.
In Delhi, 10 coaches are stationed at Shakurbasti location. The authorities have ensured that all guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) are followed.
The coaches can be used for very mild cases that can be clinically assigned to the COVID care centres as per guidelines issued by the MoHFW.
These coaches can be used in areas where the state government has exhausted the facilities and needs to augment capacities for isolation of both suspects and confirmed COVI-19 cases.
These facilities are part of the integrated COVID plan developed by MOHFW and NITI Ayog.
Out of 215 stations, the Railways will provide healthcare facilities in 85 stations, while in 130 stations, the states to request COVID care coaches only if they agree to provide staff and essential medicines.
The Railways has kept 158 stations ready with watering and charging facility and 58 stations with watering facility for these COVID care centers.
