India to Use Rail Coaches for Virus Cases in Overrun New Delhi

(Bloomberg) --

India will use rail coaches to house people infected with Covid-19 in New Delhi because of a shortage of hospital beds.

The government will deploy 500 carriages to add about 8,000 beds for patients in the capital city, Federal Home Minister Amit Shah said in a tweet after he chaired a meeting of senior ministers, the New Delhi chief minister and officials. The number of tests will be doubled, he said.

Residents in New Delhi’s containment zones will be asked to download the government’s contact-tracing app, a Home Ministry spokesman spokesman said.

Doctors and public health experts warn the city has yet to reach its peak of infections and numbers are expected to keep rising over the coming weeks. New Delhi may need 80,000 additional beds to manage an expected surge of more than half a million cases by the end of next month.

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