Chief of Naval Staff calls on PM Modi, briefs on initiatives taken by Navy to tackle COVID

As India continues to battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to brief him about the initiatives taken by the Indian Navy to battle the pandemic. As per the statement, PM Modi reviewed all the initiatives taken by the Navy to assist the countrymen in these tough times.  

Coronavirus: Chief of Naval Staff calls on PM Modi today

The Chief of Naval Staff Admiral informed PM Modi that the Indian Navy has reached out to all state administrations and have offered to help in terms of hospitals, beds, transportations and other such things. He also apprised the Prime Minister about Naval hospitals being opened for use of civilians in various cities across the country. Admiral Karambir Singh also informed that the medical personnel in the Navy have been deployed at various locations across the country to manage COVID-19 duties. 

Stating that the Naval personnel as being provided Battle Field Nursing Assistant Training, the Chief of Naval Staff further mentioned that the Navy is helping to increase the availability of medical oxygen in places like Lakshadweep as well as Andaman & Nicobar Islands. He also apprised PM Modi that the Indian Navy is transporting Oxygen Containers as well as other supplies from Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait & Singapore to India.

Rajnath Singh reviews efforts of Armed Forces to battles pandemic

Earlier on May 1, the Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting, in which he reviewed the efforts of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces in supporting the civil administration in the fight against the second wave of COVID-19. In the meeting, Rajnath Singh was briefed about the many initiatives being taken by the forces, which includes the Indian Army setting up more than 720 beds in various States, 500-bed hospital being set up in Lucknow that will be functional in a brief time of two to three days, and another hospital being set up in Varanasi which will be functional by May 5, both by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Besides, setting up beds in hospitals, he was also given a brief on steps to increase staff in hospitals. He was further informed that 600 additional doctors are being mobilised through special measures such as calling to duty those who had retired in the last few years while the Indian Navy has deployed 200 Battle Field Nursing Assistants to assist in various hospitals.

It was added that the National Cadet Corps (NCC) has also deployed 300 cadets and staff at various locations in Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Haryana. He was also informed about the telemedicine service, to be operated by health veterans, that will begin soon to provide consultation to those patients who remain at home.

 As per government data, while transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out several sorties from Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai and within the country, the Indian Navy dispatched four ships – two to the Middle East and two to South East Asia – to transport filled oxygen containers to India. As of May 01, 2021, IAF carried out 28 sorties from abroad, airlifting 47 oxygen containers with 830 MT of capacity, while from within the country, it carried out 158 sorties, airlifting 109 containers with 2,271 MT capacity. The Navy and the Air Force have also supplied nearly 500 portable oxygen cylinders from their stores to various civilian hospitals.

Coronavirus Situtation in India

As the world continues to battles against the Coronavirus pandemic, India so far has registered over 1,99,25,604 positive case,s out of which, 1,62,93,003 have successfully recovered and 2,18,959 have died. As per the latest reports from MoHFW, in the past 24 hours, 3,68,147 new cases, 3,00,732 fresh recoveries and 3,417 deaths have been reported. Currently, the total number of active COVID-19 patients in the country is 34,13,642. 

(Image: www.pib.gov.in/)