Mumbai, April 12: Western Railway has made available 21 isolation coaches for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, an official said on Monday.

"Out of 128 isolation coaches in Mumbai division, 21 coaches have been given to the Maharashtra government for use in Nandurbar district. Nandurbar collector had asked Western Railway to provide such coaches," Sumit Thakur, chief PRO, Western Railway, told PTI. He said these coaches were provided from Surat.

After the outbreak of coronavirus in 2020, the Westen Railway converted 386 bogies of outstation trains into isolation coaches with some minor changes. Thakur said that at a time 16 patients can be treated in an isolation coach.

Western Railway had last week told reporters that it can provide isolation coaches in a short notice of 24 hours if state governments register such a demand. India Reports 1,61,736 New COVID-19 Cases, 879 Deaths in Past 24 Hours.

Railway officials said that isolation coaches will prove helpful for the treatment of patients in the event of a shortage of beds in hospitals. However, these stationary isolation coaches could become very hot in the summer, epecially in the afternoon.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)