New Delhi,  The Northern Railway on Friday converted 83 wagons into isolations wards for novel coronavirus (Covid-19) patients, taking the total number of isolation coaches to 174.

Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar said: "All our workshops are working 24x7 to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. We have achieved the highest conversion rate per day for isolation coaches today with 83 coaches, taking the cumulative figure to 174 till date."

The official said that besides conversion of coaches into isolation wards, the Northern Railway has also manufactured 1,658 liters sanitiser, 5,516 face masks and 237 coveralls.

The Indian Railways has decided to convert 20,000 coaches into isolation wards which would be able to accommodate over 3.2 lakh patients across the country.

On Friday, the total number of Covid-19 patients in India rose to 2,547 with 62 deaths being reported from across the country. A total of 162 patients have been cured so far, according to the data provided by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.