ITALY
The Italian Red Cross has chosen an Iveco Crossway for its new high-biocontainment vehicle. Iveco believes the vehicle is a world first, capable of transporting up to 41 potentially infectious people plus six crew members within restricted areas like airports and to accommodation, hospital, and care facilities.
The 12-metre Crossway has already been used for urgent transport missions in Calabria. The unique set-up includes a negative pressure chamber, which is a transparent envelope that surrounds the passenger compartment, where a difference in pressure from the outside prevents air from escaping unless it is filtered. The crew can monitor the pressure in the chamber, carbon dioxide saturation, temperature, and state of the filters using an integrated digital interface.
Fitted out by the Italian Red Cross, the bus is equipped with an electro-hydraulic wheelchair lift and has air-conditioning, night lighting, tinted windows, and toilets inside the bio-containment chamber. The upholstery and interior have been covered with easily washable materials to ensure effective sanitisation.
“We are very proud that the Italian Red Cross has chosen one of the Iveco Bus flagship vehicles to create this special vehicle, the first in the world,” commented Domenico Nucera, President of Bus Business Unit of Iveco Group. “At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread through its variants, we are confident that this high-biocontainment vehicle will make an important contribution to reducing the risk of contamination, ensuring the safe transport of many patients.”
