India Deploys 'Train Hospital Beds' Amid Surge in COVID-19 Cases... Cumulative Cases Exceed 320,000

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] As confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) have surged rapidly in India over the past few days, the government has launched an emergency response, including deploying 'train beds' mainly in major metropolitan areas.

According to Johns Hopkins University on the 14th (local time), India has recorded over 320,000 cumulative confirmed cases, ranking as the fourth country with the highest number of cases after the United States, Brazil, and Russia.

The Indian government announced that 11,929 new infections were reported in a single day on the 14th.

New Delhi is struggling to secure hospital beds, and local foreign media reported that due to the shortage of beds, hospitals have had to turn patients away, resulting in a patient dying on the entrance stairs.

It is known that more than 38,900 confirmed cases occurred in New Delhi alone on the morning of that day.

Accordingly, the Indian government decided to urgently deploy 500 train cars to accommodate COVID-19 patients in New Delhi. The government plans to convert these trains into temporary wards to secure 8,000 beds.

The authorities also plan to add a total of about 20,000 beds by the 20th by converting 40 hotels and 77 banquet halls into temporary hospitals. Currently, there are only about 9,800 general beds available for COVID-19 patients in New Delhi, making it difficult to cope if confirmed cases increase exponentially.

Additionally, the Indian government plans to significantly increase testing in the New Delhi area to respond to the spread of COVID-19.

The reason the Indian government is making an all-out effort to contain the outbreak in New Delhi is due to the alarming spread of COVID-19. The number of new confirmed cases, which was around 300 to 400 per day in early last month, recently jumped to about 2,000.

The death toll in New Delhi increased by 56, bringing the cumulative total to 1,327.

On that day, it was reported that 19% of the new daily confirmed cases and 17% of the deaths nationwide occurred in New Delhi.

The ongoing spread has also dealt a severe blow to the Indian economy. India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by only 3.1% in the first quarter of this year, marking the lowest growth rate in the past eight years. The growth rate for the second quarter is expected to be even lower.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.