As Delhi Struggles With COVID-19, Help Comes On Tracks - 500 Train Coaches To Be Deployed

The COVID-19 outbreak in Delhi is already pretty bad and it is predicted to take a turn for the worse in the coming days.

According to the Delhi Government's own projection, COVID-19 cases in the national capital are likely to breach the five lakh-mark by the end of July. Around one lakh beds will be needed for patients.

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As of now, Delhi has a total of 9,647 dedicated COVID-19 beds in state-run, central and private hospitals, of these, 5,402 are occupied.

The Delhi Government has been trying to increase the number of beds by making small and medium multi-specialty nursing homes in the city having 10 to 49 beds as "COVID nursing homes" and a 10,000-bed makeshift hospital for COVID-19 patients under a sprawling tent in south Delhi.

It is still going to fall short of the required number if we go by the government's projection.

But there is more help on the way. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday held a meeting with Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and others to discuss the situation in Delhi.

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The Central Government has decided to immediately give 500 railway coaches to Delhi which will increase the number of beds by 8000 in the national capital.

In March the Indian Railways had began converting railway coaches into COIVD-19 isolation facilities.

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To make the modified isolation ward, the middle berth was removed, the lower portion of the compartment plugged by plywood and a provision of partition provided from the aisle side for the isolation of the compartment. Each coach would have 10 isolation wards.

In April, the Indian Railways had said that it will modify 20,000 coaches into quarantine/ isolation coaches to augment the quarantine facilities.

In the meeting, it was also agreed that testing for COVID-19 to be doubled in the next couple of days in Delhi and in 6 days, tripled.

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On Sunday Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal inspected the site of a proposed 10,000-bed makeshift hospital for COVID-19 patients in South Delhi.

The planned COVID-19 facility will come up under a sprawling tent on the campus of spiritual organisation Radha Soami Satsang Beas on the Delhi-Haryana border.

#WATCH Considering the increase in demand for medical infrastructure, we have come here to inspect the area&check its feasibility. The decision to convert this campus into a COVID facility will be taken after analysis of several factors: Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal. #Delhi https://t.co/k4yxnm6Wav pic.twitter.com/iEcKpuPQEJ

¡ª ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2020

Baijal said the administration will further ramp up medical infrastructure to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and directed the officials to build the makeshift hospital at the earliest.

This COVID-19 facility, which will be 1,700 feet long and 700 feet wide, will have 200 enclosures with 50 beds each, said Vikas Sethi, secretary of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, Bhati Mines.

The makeshift hospital will be the largest such facility in the city so far. The work is expected to be completed by the end of June.