51 military hospitals preparing Coronavirus facilities including ICU

NEW DELHI: Fifty-one military hospitals across India are preparing dedicated Coronavirus facilities including intensive care units for tackling the outbreak, the defence ministry said on Friday. Some of these facilities are located at Kolkata, Vishakhapatnam, Kochi, Dundigal near Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kanpur, Jaisalmer, Jorhat and Gorakhpur. Besides medical, the armed forces are also providing logistics support to the civilian authorities, coming at a time when the lockdown has affected road and rail networks.

The transport fleet of the Indian Air Force has supplied 60 tons of essential supplies, medicines and medical equipment across the country. Twenty eight fixed wing and 21 helicopters are on standby at various locations across the country. Six naval ships are ready at Vizagapatam, Kochi and Mumbai to transport important supplies and medical equipment to neighbouring countries.

These ships are likely to transport important supplies and medical equipment. Five medical teams are also on standby for deployment in Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan.

“Dedicated COVID-19 facilities including High Dependency Units, Intensive Care Unit beds are being prepared in 51 hospitals of the armed forces across the country. Some of these facilities are located at Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Dundigal near Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kanpur, Jaisalmer, Jorhat and Gorakhpur,” the ministry said.