A COVID-19 isolation train has been parked on platform No. 7 at the Visakhapatnam Railway Station on Monday. A single bay will accommodate one patient and nine wards (bays) have been created in each coach. One bay in each coach will be used by doctors and paramedical staff.
The middle berths in all the coupes/bays in the coaches have been removed and one of the four toilets has been converted into a bathroom. All the wash basins, in the washrooms as well as those near the exit/entry to the coaches, have been provided with liquid soap dispensers.
Each coupe has been equipped with four bottle holders and two three-peg coat hooks to facilitate the paramedical staff hang the intravenous fluids. There are three pedal-operated dustbins of three different colours with disposable garbage bags. Oxygen cylinders have been provided in all the coaches. Intensive cleaning along with disinfection and sanitisation of all the coaches is possible. Mosquito nets have been provided in all the coaches. Safety gadgets like masks, PPEs and sanitisers will be provided by the medical department as and when a patient is isolated.
The conversion of the coaches has been done at the Coaching Depot, Visakhapatnam, a pioneer in the conversion of railway coaches into quarantine/isolation wards, for COVID-19 patients. Waltair Division has so far converted 60 coaches and 500 isolation beds are ready for use, says Senior Divisional Commercial Manager G. Suneel Kumar.