Armed Forces Put Up Strong Defence Against Pandemic

By Editor 18-May-2020

India is acting on a war-footing with proper coordination among all the wings of the defence forces and support of people while fighting the ‘biggest invisible war’ in the last several decades against COVID-19, says Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

World over, the armed forces are engaged in an unprecedented battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. In India also various wings of defence ministry are contributing their expertise, manpower and equipment to the cause.

For instance, quarantine facilities at places such as Mumbai, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Hindon, Manesar and Chennai were set up during the early phases itself. More were added to the list as the situation evolved. Even during early April, the total number of dedicated Army Hospitals to COVID-19 Patients was 13. Additional facilities and hospital beds were made available over the next few weeks. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised the security personnel in the fight against COVID-19. He held the first review meeting on March 26 with senior officials of Ministry on the action plan of the Ministry to deal with the COVID-19 situation. Singh also chaired several group of ministers meetings in April 2020.

Singh said the fight against the pandemic is the “biggest invisible war” in last several decades and India is acting on a war-footing with proper coordination among all agencies concerned and support of people. He said the Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force are strictly adhering to instructions issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Health Ministry and their own medical bodies for protection against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said that the defence ministry has activated the forces, PSUs and its medical units to tackle COVID-19. To face this unprecedented challenge all the Ministries and Departments of Government of India are working to their optimum level to contain the adverse effects of the disease and mitigate the sufferings of the people, he said.

The dedicated COVID-19 facilities in Army hospitals including High Dependency Units, Intensive Care Unit beds were soon prepared in 51 hospitals of the armed forces across the country. Moreover, in the early stage of the lockdown itself, five viral testing labs at armed forces hospitals were made part of the national grid. Additional hospitals were soon equipped to carry out COVID-19 testing.