IAF supplies 200 tonnes of essentials across country amid COVID-19 lockdown

As the COVID-19 outbreak grips the entire nation, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been doing its bit to ensure the continuous supply of essential commodities to the states. In the same efforts, the IAF operated C-17, C-130, IL-76, An-32 and Dornier aircraft to transport vital goods to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Guwahati and Leh on Friday night. Along with this, the IAF flew over 140 fights carrying loads over 200 tonnes to several locations across the country.

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IAF transports 25 tonnes of medical supplies in 3 days

On Wednesday, the Indian Air Force said it has transported around 25 tonnes of essential medical supplies from Delhi, Surat, Chandigarh to Manipur, Nagaland and the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The medical supplies include personal protective equipment (PPE), hand sanitiser, surgical gloves, thermal scanners, the IAF said in a statement, adding that medical personnel are also being taken from one place to another using their aircraft.

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The Centre on March 24 announced a nationwide lockdown to fight COVID-19. All road, rail and air services have been suspended for a period of three weeks. However, freight movement has been delivering essential commodities across the country. Essential services including medical shops, petrol pumps, grocery stores, milk booths and online shopping of vital items have been exempted from the lockdown.

With 40 deaths and 1,035 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, India on Saturday witnessed the highest ever increase in coronavirus cases, taking the tally of the infected people in the country to 7,447, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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(With inputs from agencies)