India to use 500 train carriages as wards in Delhi

India is to convert another 500 railway carriages to create 8,000 more beds for coronavirus patients in Delhi, amid a surge in infections.

Home Minister Amit Shah announced a package of new emergency measures for the capital on Sunday, including a rapid increase in testing for Covid-19. Nursing homes will also be requisitioned.

The total number of 320,922 officially confirmed cases puts India fourth in the world – after the US, Brazil and Russia – in the pandemic.

The death toll in India stands at 9,195, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University from official sources.

India began converting railway carriages into quarantine or isolation wards in April, when large parts of the railway network were suspended owing to the pandemic