With the coronavirus cases increasing in the nation, coming close to the two thousand mark, the entire country has come forward with high motivations to combat the outbreak.
While citizens continue to observe self-quarantine, authorities like the railways have turned coaches into isolation wards and following suit, the armed forces too, have set up 9,000 hospital beds that are ready to treat COVID-19 patients. Adding to that, these makeshift hospitals will have about 8,500 doctors and support staff that will be present to provide all the necessary aid to civilian administrations.
In the last three days, military aircrafts have transported roughly 25 tonnes of medical supplies around the country, including 1.5 lakh litres of sanitiser provided to different organisations by DRDO, which is also now making five-layered nanotechnology N99 face masks and personal protective equipment.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh called on all special forces - the Army, Navy, IAF, DRDO, Defence PSUs and Ordnance Factory Board to “redouble their work” with respect to medical care, evacuation, quarantine facilities and production of medical equipment, a TOI report stated.
Besides these immediate actions, the DRDO has also delivered 40,000 other face masks to the Delhi Police.
“A DRDO lab has also made arrangements to make 20,000 PPE per day. We also engaged in minor modification of ventilators so that one machine can support four patients at the same time.”DRDO chief Dr G Satheesh Reddy to TOI
The Indian Air Force has airlifted medical essentials from Delhi, Surat and Chandigarh to Manipur, Nagaland, J&K and Ladakh.
‘Warships were on standby to extend assistance to civil administrations’.Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh to TOI
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