New Delhi: Indian Railways, on Monday, informed that 1,952 of its employees have succumbed to the Covid-19 pandemic since its outbreak in March 2020.
A top Railway official also informed that approximately 1000 railway personnel gets infected by Covid every day on average.
While addressing a press conference, CEO and Chairman Railway Board Suneet Sharma said, "This is a challenge. Railways is no different to any other state or territory. We are also having Covid cases because we are in the business of transportation and we need to run trains, to move freight commodities as well as passengers."
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He further added, "Approximately 1000 cases have been reported daily. Our employees are taking treatment in our hospitals and dispensaries. We have enhanced our facilities by providing oxygen beds and oxygen concentrators. We have also installed oxygen plants in several hospitals. We are making an effort to surmount these challenges to carry maximum traffic."
However, he clarified that it is a dynamic figure which varies every day and people are also getting well. Sharma said that within 12 to 15 days, these patients come back to join their duties again.
Concerning the Covid fatalities of the Railway employees, he said, "Yesterday when the figures were being reviewed, it was 1952 people who have died since the day Covid has started last year. This is a very tragic figure. But this is a difficult time for all of us and our main interest is to see that they are doing well. We are doing our best by increasing our ventilators, oxygen beds, and ensuring that they do not need to interact with too many people."