Noida: After several reports of overcharging by ambulance drivers amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration on Saturday issued an order and fixed a cap on rates charged by the medically equipped vehicles. The administration has also released helpline numbers to lodge complaints in case of misconduct. “People can lodge a complaint on helpline number 18004192211 or 112 if they are overcharged by the ambulance service provider,” District Magistrate Suhas L Y asserted. The new orders by the district administration came as a big relief for COVID patients and their relatives who were compelled to pay exorbitant fares to ambulance operators to ferry their loved ones.
About The New Rates
- Any ambulance without oxygen support can not charge more than Rs 1,000 for a maximum 10 km and Rs 100 for every km thereafter.
- Ambulances with oxygen support can charge a maximum of Rs 1,500 for 10 km and thereafter, Rs 100 per km.
- Ambulances with ventilator or Bi-pap support can charge Rs 2,500 for 10 km and thereafter, Rs 200 per km.
COVID-19 Cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar
Gautam Buddh Nagar’s COVID-19 death toll surged to 307 with 11 more fatalities while eight more people succumbed in adjoining Ghaziabad where the fatality count reached 317, official data showed on Saturday. The two districts adjoining Delhi in western Uttar Pradesh now have a cumulative death toll of 624, according to data released by the state’s Health Department for a 24-hour period.
In terms of new cases, Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded 1,188 fresh infections during the period and its tally mounted to 51,767. Its active cases reached 8,545, the data showed. Ghaziabad in the meantime logged 564 new cases that pushed its case tally to 46,711 and active cases to 6,134, it showed.
Gautam Buddh Nagar’s mortality rate stands at 0.57 per cent and recovery rate at 83.28 per cent, while these figures for Ghaziabad were recorded at 0.67 per cent and 86.34 per cent, respectively, according to the statistics.