Coronavirus outbreak in India: In another step to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways is conducting screening of passengers inside trains. The Thiruvananthapuram railway division of the Southern Railway (SR) zone, with the help of the Kerala state government and Health Ministry, has started conducting the thermal screening of passengers inside running trains and at major railway stations of the division. A spokesperson of the Thiruvananthapuram division told Financial Express Online that the health officials of the state government are screening the passengers in those trains, which are being operated from the other states and entering the Thiruvananthapuram division.
Those passengers who record a higher temperature than normal, during the thermal screening or show signs of the infection are directly reported to the state government. Such passengers are then being taken to the isolation wards at the Indian Railways stations or directly to a hospital in the area. The spokesperson added that for a total of 11 control desks have been placed at the entry and exit points of the major railway stations under the Thiruvananthapuram division. These control desks are manned by railway officials of the zone and facilitated by one AYUSH doctor each. The passengers who arrive at the railway station and feel unwell or show symptoms of the infection can directly consult the doctor at these control desks.
Additionally, thermal screening is also being conducted of those passengers who arrive at the border stations of the Thiruvananthapuram division. Recently, at the Pudukad railway station, an awareness program was conducted for passengers, in order to sensitize them for taking precautionary measures against catching the Coronavirus infection. Face masks were distributed to passengers waiting at the station and those inside the trains.
Apart from the screening tests, the division is also carrying out sanitisation of all railway stations. The housekeeping staff deployed at the stations have been directed to sanitise the hand railings, lifts, escalators, passenger seats at stations with disinfectants. The hand railings of the trains which halt at the stations are also being sanitised. The sanitisation process has been intensified by the Southern Railway zone due to the rising number of Coronavirus cases being reported in Kerala.