<span style="color: #222222;">Indian Railways has converted five thousand 231 non air-conditioned coaches into isolation coaches as COVID Care Centres in order to augment the bed capacities to deal with the COVID-19 situation.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Conversion of these coaches are part of the integrated COVID plan developed by Health Ministry and NITI Ayog. It is advised that the coaches should be well ventilated with adequate scope for natural lighting and air conditioning if provided, should be non-ducted.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The issue of AC vs Non-AC coaches was discussed with NiTi Ayog and Health Ministry before converting these coaches for Corona patients. It was agreed that AC coaches would not be suitable in view of the potential transmission risk of Corona virus through AC duct. It was also agreed that a higher ambient temperature is expected to assist in fighting the virus and cross circulation of air through open windows will benefit patients.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">As directed by the Empowered Group-II, these isolation coaches serving as COVID Care Centres will offer care only for cases that have been clinically assigned as mild or very mild cases or COVID suspect cases.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">It was advised that these coaches would be used only when the state facilities would get overburdened and it was expected that these coaches could be required for use by mid-July by that time virus was expected to peak.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Railways is making these coaches available as a service provider to State Governments as per the guidelines issued by Health Ministry. These coaches will be utilized by States as a contingency measure only when all other means to isolate the COVID patients have been exhausted.</span>