HomeNewsIndiaMumbai: BEST converts buses into ambulances

Mumbai: BEST converts buses into ambulances

These 'semi-ambulances' will be used to ferry suspected coronavirus patients, or those who have only mild infection, to COVID-19 Care Centres, a senior official said.

April 24, 2020 / 19:12 IST
Image Source: Twitter

Image Source: Twitter

As the city is grappling with the rising number of coronavirus cases, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, the civic transport service, has converted seven of its AC mini-buses into ambulances.

These 'semi-ambulances' will be used to ferry suspected coronavirus patients, or those who have only mild infection, to COVID-19 Care Centres, a senior official said.

Seats were removed and air-tight partition was put in to separate driver cabins from the rest of the vehicle in seven buses at the BEST's workshop in the last three days.

"We have been asked to provide 20 more such buses- turned-into-ambulances," said Surendrakumar Bagde, general manager of BEST.

Its staff was converting three buses into ambulances every day and 20 make-shift ambulances will be ready in the next week, Bagde said.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

View more
How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

View more
Show

Some of the converted buses have been already pressed into service. "We are also converting some of our buses into proper (full-fledged) ambulances and the first such ambulance is expected to get ready tomorrow," he said.

This will reduce the pressure on dedicated COVID-19 ambulances, he added.

At present, out of 93 ambulances of 108 service in the city, 66 are available for COVID-19 patients, and these are attending average 400-500 patients daily.

BEST, which caters to 35 lakh commuters in Mumbai and neighbouring cities, has a fleet of over 3,500 buses.

Since lockdown began in March, BEST buses are being used for ferrying emergency and essential services staff. It is operating special services with 1,650 buses, 650 of which are used for transportation of hospital staff, police personnel, and government staff. "Mumbai is fighting a war against coronavirus and by transporting frontline emergency and essential service staff, BEST is also playing a major role in it," Bagde said.

The undertaking has also provided six buses for transportation of dry ration to different parts of the city.

BEST buses are also being used to transport food parcels, sanitary napkins and diapers and other essential items to slum-dominated areas. "We are daily ferrying nearly 2.5 lakh food packets in 24 wards from 79 community kitchens using 70 air conditioned mini-buses," Bagde said.

As of April 23, Mumbai had reported over 4,200 coronavirus patients.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.

PTI
first published: Apr 24, 2020 07:05 pm

Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

Subscribe to Tech Newsletters

  • On Saturdays

    Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.

  • Daily-Weekdays

    Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.

Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347