By Manoj Pathak

Hajipur (Bihar), Aug 11 (IANS): Amid the twin problems of tackling floods and the coronavirus, the Bihar government has launched a unique initiative -- Covid boat ambulance in its fight against the deadly virus.

The Vaishali district administration has taken the initiative to bring Covid-19 patients to the hospital by turning boats into a special Covid ambulance. This boat has all the facilities which are available in an ambulance.

There are many villages in the Diara area of Raghopur in Vaishali district where a boat is the only way for the people to come to the block headquarters and hospitals.

Rana Akshay Pratap Singh, Raghopur Circle Officer, told IANS that people from many villages are being brought to local hospitals for examination in the boat ambulance. He said this boat is being run between Jethuli Ghat and Tetar Ghat.

On the boat ambulance, a PPE kit has been arranged by the testing team along with a doctor, an assistant and a medical team. It has facilities such as stretchers, beds, oxygen cylinders, medicine, etc.

The number of corona-infected persons is on the rise in Bihar with the number of patients reaching 82,741. As many as 54,139 infected people have recovered with the recovery rate reaching 65.43 per cent.

Nearly 2,548 corona-infected persons have been identified in Vaishali district, of which 1,336 have recovered. At present, there are 1,197 active patients in the state.