The COVID-19 outbreak has created an atmosphere of emergency across the nation. The whole nation is fighting against the fatal virus. As per information, Indian railways has manufactured a prototype of an isolation ward for treating coronavirus patients by converting non-air-conditioned train coaches.
Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar informed that once the best practices are finalised in the next few days, each railway zone would manufacture a rake with 10 coaches every week. And they will serve the hinterlands or whichever region needs the coaches.
The coaches are being sanitized before and after they are converted into isolation wards. The hospital isolation coaches will have provision of air curtains in each compartment. They have converted two toilets into bathrooms by plugging the toilet pan and (installing) proper flooring. And for convenience they removed the middle berth. Each coach would have 10 isolation wards.For medical equipment to be plugged in, the railways has provided 220-volt electrical points in each compartment. The railways has also provided a provision for 415-volt supply externally.
Not just the wards for patients, the coaches will also have facilities such as consultation rooms, medical stores, ICUs and pantry.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked citizens to stay indoors for three weeks to contain coronavirus. This move of railways indeed indicates that the government is taking all the efforts to face an expected surge in coronavirus cases.
