A private school in Palghar, a predominantly tribal district of Maharashtra, has been converted into a 100-bed Covid Care Centre, an official said on Saturday. District Collector Dr Manik Gursal, Palghar Zilla Parishad health officer Dr Dayanand Suryavanshi and other officials on Friday visited the facility set up at Eklavya Gurukul School, located at Usgaon near Ganeshpuri.

Vivek Pandit, founder of Shramajivi Sanghatana, an organisation that fights for the rights of tribals, took an initiative in this regard. Talking to reporters, Pandit said, "When the entire world is reeling under the pandemic, we though we should do something for the society." "This is our way of helping the administration. This 100-bed facility would help the local tribal residents," he said.

Since the last one week, around 100 trained volunteers of the organisation have been helping the coronavirus patients in four districts- Thane, Palghar, Raigad and Nashik - and also sensitising people about the importance of vaccination, he said. The COVID-19 caseload of Palghar district has reached 85,661, while the death toll has gone up to 1,562.