Nine Odisha stations to have Covid-19 care rail coaches

BHUBANESWAR: Considering the possibility of increase in cases of Covid-19, the Centre has taken a decision to utilize railway coaches for Covid Care Centre. Suspected or confirmed Covid cases can be kept in the railway coaches.
A total of 215 stations across the country will have these special train coaches for Covid care. Out of these, nine stations from Odisha will get these facility, official sources said.
These stations were Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, Sambalpur, Titlagarh and Kantabanji stations in Balangir district, Rayagada, Koraput, Jharsuguda and Rourkela. Healthcare staff from Railways are available at Bhubaneswar and Khurda Road stations only.
The ministry of Railways has initiated conversion of rail coaches into Covid care centre to provide additional beds for Covid-19 patients as and when required.
On April 2, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) had told media that it will convert 261 train coaches to serve as quarantine or isolation facilities for Covid-19 suspected cases.
This facilities will be created at different coaching depots and workshops in ECoR jurisdiction spread over Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Many coaches have been converted for quarantine facility.
The quarantine centers on wheel have essential facilities including mosquito nets at windows, one bathroom and three toilets in a coach, removal of middle berth, six liquid soap dispensers in each coach, bottle holders and dustbins, laptop and mobile charging facilities, pillow and bedsheets, plastic curtain at both ends of aisle area, mug and buckets in the bathrooms.
"The state government will map at least one Covid dedicated hospital for each train so that patient can be shifted to the hospital
in case of emergency. State will make suitable ambulance arrangements for shifting the patient. Preferably one Basic Life support Ambulance with oxygen and ambubag should be stationed at the railway station where the train is placed," said an official document of the Union ministry of health and family welfare.