Dy CM inspects COVID-19 isolation coaches

NEW DELHI: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday inspected the first of the isolation coaches here at Shakur Basti Railway Station, being deputed to Delhi in anticipation of a massive case surge by the end of this month and expressed his concern over the rising temperatures and how patients will be made to feel comfortable without the ability to run air-conditioning systems in these coaches.

As per the meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday morning, it was agreed that the Railways would send a total of 1,000 isolation coaches to Delhi by June 30. The Railways has confirmed that 503 of these coaches have already arrived in Delhi.

“I had gone to inspect these coaches, to check on the arrangements and if we can start sending in patients,” said Sisodia. Northern and North Central Railway General Manager Rajiv Chaudhary on Wednesday said 317 of these 503 coaches that have arrived at various railway stations would be made ready by Wednesday night. “The soaring temperatures and the heat will make it problematic for our medical staff to operate while wearing heavy PPE kits. We are trying our best to improve the infrastructure and to come up with a solution to this so that we can begin deploying staff and admitting patients at these isolation centres,” the Deputy CM added. While Delhi’s Anand Vihar Railway Station has got the lion’s share with 267 such coaches deployed at its seven platforms, there are 50 each in Shakur Basti and Sarai Rohilla, officials here said.

The national transporter has deployed 33 coaches at Delhi Cantonment, 30 at Adarsh Nagar, 21 at Safdarjung, 13 each at Tughlaqabad and Shahdara, and 26 at the Patel Nagar stations, according to the officials. According to Delhi government health officials, the air-conditioned environments might aid in the spread of the virus. Well-ventilated, airy environments are safer. In areas with high temperatures, the Railways have said it will also insulate the roofs to bring down the temperature inside these non-airconditioned coaches.

States will have to arrange doctors and medical staff, as per a protocol issued by the Health Ministry. Each isolation train will be tied to the nearest hospital. However, while the Delhi government has said it is still working on a plan to arrange for sufficient healthcare workers, a major challenge for Delhi continues to be the need to find trained medical professionals who can tend to patients.

Meanwhile, Sisodia added that auditoriums in nearly 242 schools will be used to set up additional beds for COVID19 patients requiring medical attention.