Honda Motor Co. retrofitted 50 Odyssey minivans with an airtight divider behind the front seats so the vehicles can be used to transport COVID-19 patients to hospitals and quarantine facilities in Japan.
The automaker also created a one-way ventilation system to prevent air from the rear of the minivans from entering the driver’s compartment, reducing the risk of infection.
Honda is lending the Odysseys to health authorities in Tokyo and had delivered two of them as of Tuesday, April 14, a spokesman told Reuters. The company will consider making more of the vehicles available depending on demand, adding that they were not meant to function as ambulances.
Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Corp. said it was exploring ways to alter its JPN Taxi models used in Japan to transport infected patients.