Indian Railways has converted 5,231 coaches into COVID-Care Centres, the ministry of railways informed this in a statement to media.

"The coaches can be used for very mild cases that can be clinically assigned to the COVID-Care centres as per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)," the statement added.

"These coaches can be used in areas where the state has exhausted the facilities and needs to augment capacities for isolation of both suspects and confirmed COVID-19 cases," it added.

"Out of 215 stations, railways will provide healthcare facilities in 85 stations," the statement added.

"In 130 stations, states can request for COVID-care centres only if they agree to provide staff and essential medicines that may be required," the statement further said.

Further, the Indian Railways has kept 158 stations ready with watering and charging facility and 58 stations with watering facility for these COVID-care centres, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) informed that the Indian Railways is making an all-out effort to supplement the health care efforts of the Centre

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"Indian Railways has geared up to provide its 5,231 COVID-Care Centres to the State and Zonal Railways has converted these coaches for quarantine facilities," NFR informed in a press statement.

In the NFR area, these coaches are ready for placement at twenty stations- Agartala, Alipurduar Junction, Ambasa, Badarpur, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Kamakhya, Katihar, Lumding, New Bongaigaon, New Cooch Behar, New Jalpaiguri, New Tinsukia, Rangapara North, Rangiya, Silchar, Mariani, Murkongselek, New Alipurduar and Siliguri.

The MoHWF guidelines regarding the use of such coaches will be strictly followed upon by both the railways and state government.

Apart from COVID-care centres, the Indian Railways will deploy over 2500 doctors and 35, 000 paramedic staff to meet the COVID-19 challenge.

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Doctors and paramedics are being recruited on a temporary basis by various zones.

Around 5,000 beds in 17 dedicated hospitals and 33 hospital blocks in railway hospitals have been identified for treating COVID-19 patients.