Haryana Police to provide 440 cars as ambulances for COVID-19 patients

The Haryana Police will provide 440 vehicles, 20 each to the state's 22 districts, to be used as ambulances for needy COVID-19 patients, it said on Thursday.

The COVID-19 Hospital Transport Service (COV-HOTS) is being provided free of charge as many instances of shortage of ambulances and over-charging have been noticed, the Haryana Police said in a statement.

These vehicles are being given to the districts on a temporary basis to transport the needy and infected patients from their homes to the hospitals and nursing homes, and also drop them back once they have recovered, it said.

Director General of Police (DGP), Haryana, Manoj Yadava, said, each of the 22 districts would get 20 Toyota Innova vehicles.

Out of the total 126 COV-HOTS, a few vehicles have already been provided - 26 to the Hisar Range, 20 each to the Gurugram Police Commissionerate and the Rohtak Range, 10 each to Faridabad and the Panchkula Commissionerate, 12 each to the Ambala and the Karnal Range, and 16 vehicles to the South Range Rewari.

Seventy vehicles will reach the districts by Thursday evening, and the rest will be delivered by Sunday evening, Yadava said.

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The DGP said the vehicles were being provided exclusively for the purpose of providing transportation services to the COVID-19 patients.

To avail of the service, one needs to call '108' or the police control room of the district concerned, he said.

Police personnel driving these vehicles will be wearing masks, gloves, and PPE kits, the DGP had said.

"The police force is working shoulder-to-shoulder with the medical fraternity to help COVID-19 patients," he added.

So far, the state of Haryana has recorded over 5.59 lakh positive cases since the onset of the pandemic, with more than 4,000 deaths in the state.

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)