Armed Forces in action for fighting against COVID-19 | 8 Things You Must Know

As the cases of COVID-19 have skyrocketed in India, Armed Forces have been brought into action by the Government for fighting against the deadly Coronavirus. Check out about Armed Forces role in combating COVID-19 Coronavirun in India.

Indian Armed Forces are always showcased their mettle and dedication to serve the nation on various occasions in the past. Now as the nation is struggling to fight against COVID-19 Coronavirus, Armed Forces have been deployed to quickly retain the once in a century pandemic. Here are eight things all Indians must know about the role being played by the Indian Armed Forces.

1. Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMC) Doctors and Nurses Pushed into action

Indian Armed Forces have their dedicated medical college where the MBBS course is conducted and the passed out doctors will join as Medical Officers in the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force. AFMC is considered one of the best MBBS colleges in India which has modern state-of-art equipment to train doctors. 

Coming to fighting against COVID-19, AFMC personnel have been involved from the earlier stages itself when the first batch of students repatriated from COVID-19 hit Wuhan city. All the Indian nationals who have been evacuated from Wuhan had been quarantined at a facility set up by AFMC and also they were administered by AFMC doctors and medical assistants.

2. 51 Hospitals of Indian Armed Forces are being readied with dedicated COVID-19 facilities

As many as 51 hospitals of Indian Armed Forces across the country are being equipped with dedicated COVID-19 facilities which include High Dependency Units, ICU, etc. In case of requirement, these Indian Armed Forces hospitals will be used by defence personnel as well as civilians infected with COVID-19 Coronavirus in India.

Following are the few cities where these 51 hospitals are being equipped to combat COVID-19 virus:-

1. Kolkata of West Bengal
2. Kochi of Kerala
3. Visakhapatnam of Andhra Pradesh
4. Dundigal in Telangana
5. Bengaluru in Karnataka
6. Kanpur and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh
7. Jorhat in Assam
8. Jaisalmer in Rajasthan

3. Five Viral Testing labs have been set up at Armed Forces hospitals

Indian Government is quickly setting up COVID-19 virus testing facilities across the country for timely testing for the presence of the coronavirus. Now a total of five Armed Forces hospitals have been facilitated with COVID-19 sample testing. Following are the five existing COVID-19 sample testing centers of Indian Armed Forces:-

1. Research and Referral (R&R) hospital in New Delhi which is one of the topmost medical facilities in India. President's treatment is always done at the Research & Referral hospital.
2. Air Force Command Hospital located in Bangalore
3. AFMC, Pune
4. Command Hospital of Indian Army which is set up at Lucknow
5. Command Hospital of Indian Army's Northern Command located in Udhampur (Jammu & Kashmir)

4. Six more COVID-19 viral testing labs will be set up at various Armed Forces Hospitals

Apart from the existing five COVID-19 testing facilities, the Indian Government is setting up coronavirus testing centers at another six Armed Forces hospitals for which the work is being carried out on war footing. Once these Armed Forces viral testing facilities will become functional, a total of eleven COVID-19 labs would be available at various Armed Forces hospitals. 

5. Indian Air Force's C-17 Globemaster has evacuated a total of 183 people from China and Iran

Indian Air Force has sprung into the action and deployed its C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft for ferrying in stranded Indians and also to transport medical supplies & COVID-19 samples to testing labs. Out of 183 people rescued, 125 persons were airlifted from China's epidemic epicenter, Wuhan and another 58 persons were airlifted from another Coronavirus epicenter Iran. 

6. C-130J Super Hercules transported 6.2 tonnes of medicines to the Maldives

A whopping 6.2 tonnes of medicines have been airlifted and transported to the Maldives. One can remember that in the recent past, the Indian Government has sent medicines to China when the country was the only nation suffering from the COVID-19 epidemic. 

7. Indian Armed Forces helping the Maldives to increase their efficiency to fight COVID-19

 Not only supplying the essential medicines to the Maldives but also the Government is helping the nation to enhance its hospitals which would help it to fight the epidemic. Indian Armed Forces had helped the Maldives officials to set up quarantine facility centers and COVID-19 testing labs. For this, an Army Medical Corps team along with seven paramedics, five doctors, and two Military Nursing Officers were deployed by the Indian Government.

 8. Six Indian Navy ships are on standby to assist neighboring nations

In fighting the COVID-19 Coronavirus, the Indian Navy is also all geared up as six massive ships are ready to move at short notice to neighboring nations to assist the nations in case of requirement. Indian Navy has five medical teams that are ready to be deployed in our neighboring nations such as Afganistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. Apart from these six teams and six ships being kept on toes, the Indian Navy's Mumbai Dockyard has developed a low-cost Thermal gun that would start production if scarcity deepens and people require them in mass for testing for COVID-19 symptoms. 

 

So Indian Armed Forces are showcasing their ability and dedication to the nation in this grave once in a century epidemic where the whole nation is fighting against the deadly COVID-19 virus.