Amid rising Covid-19 cases in the country and many not able to find beds in hospitals, Indian Railways has seen a rise in demand for its Covid-19 isolation. The India Railways has received a demand from Nandurbar, a Maharashtra district close to the Gujarat border, for around 95 coaches and 1,500 beds.
According to an exclusive report by Hindustan Times, a memorandum of understanding signed between Western Railways and the district authorities on April 11 noted, “Each Covid-19 care rake will have 20 coaches, comprising modified Sleeper and General coaches; each coach can accommodate 16 patients. The coaches will be suitably positioned as mutually agreed upon between the district administration of Nandurbar and divisional administration of Mumbai division of Western Railways.”
The district is currently under lockdown till April 15 and has reported close to 400 cases daily since March.
Maharashtra on Monday reported 51,751 fresh coronavirus positive cases, a day after logging the highest 63,294 infections, while 258 people died, the state health department said. The state’s cumulative case tally now stands at 34,58,996 and the toll at 58,245, it said.
Maharashtra is now left with 5,64,746 active cases, the department said in a release. Mumbai saw 6,893 new cases and 43 fatalities, taking the tally to 5,27,391 and the toll to 12,066.
For the first time since the start of the month, Mumbai has witnessed less than 8,500 daily Covid-19 cases in a day. On April 1, the metropolis had recorded 8,646 cases, while the all-time high (so far) was recorded on April 4 at 11,163. On three days in April, the daily count had crossed the 10,000-mark.
According to the BMC, the case doubling rate has dropped to 36 days. The civic body said Mumbai currently has 89 active containment zones, in slums and ‘chawls’ (old multi-storeyed row tenements), and 919 sealed buildings.
Plants in Maharashtra are producing 1,200 metric tonnes of oxygen per day and the entire stock is being used for medical purposes in view of the rising COVID-19 cases, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Monday. He also said the central government should provide Maharashtra with 1.60 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses per month.
Talking to reporters in the adjoining Jalna district, Tope said the state government has decided to set up plants in hospitals which can separate and purify oxygen from the atmosphere and provide it to patients. Tope said
neighbouring states are not willing to supply liquid oxygen to Maharashtra, which is reeling under a second wave of COVID-19 and has seen a rapid rise in demand for oxygen needed to treat critical patients.
Medical-grade oxygen is used for the treatment of critical COVID-19 patients and in other cases of respiratory diseases. Tope said the Centre should provide Maharashtra, the state worst hit by the pandemic, with 1.60 crore vaccine doses per month.
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