Army set to send team to Nepal for Covid assistance

Indian Army is ready to dispatch a rapid response team to Nepal for assisting in the present Covid19 situation there.

To assist the civilian government in the country, Lt. Gen. Anup Banerji, DG, Armed Forces Médical Services, said that there are five hospitals across Army, Navy and Air Force which can carry out Covid-19 tests. These hospitals include Command Hospital Air Force, Bangalore, AFMC in Pune, Army R&R Hospital in Delhi and

Army command hospitals in Udhampur and Lucknow. He said that six additional hospitals are also being equipped with the resources to begin testing.

“Presently, 28 service hospitals have been earmarked as Covid-19 hospitals for managing purely corona infection cases. This will include Armed Forces patients as well as civilian patients transferred from state health authorities, in case their capacity is overwhelmed,” said Lt. Gen. Banerji.

He said that as of now, there has been only one case of serving soldier who tested positive for coronavirus. “He was on leave at his home in Leh, taking care of his father who had returned recently from Iran and suffering from Covid-19 infection. The soldier has made an uneventful recovery,” said Lt. Gen. Banerji.

Army Chief Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane on Friday launched operation “Namaste” as part of Armed Forces effort to aid in combating Covid-19 in the country.

“Apart from Maldives, we are ready to dispatch a RRT to Nepal for assisting them with the present situation there,” said Lt. Gen. Banerji.