Amid the rising cases of Covid-19 across the country in the past two weeks, the Army has issued an advisory for its headquarters as well as stations and formations, suggesting requisite preparations for containment testing, quarantine, contact tracing and surveillance. As per the communication from the Integrated HQ of Ministry of Defence (Army), the weekly positivity rate in the force in the last week of December was 2.34 per cent.
The interventions suggested are based on the positivity rate of cases detected at various stations among Indian Army personnel and their dependents.
For instance, the advisory suggests that if a military station records a positivity rate of one to two per cent, it should be ensured that mandatory testing is carried out for personnel returning from temporary duties or leave.
Moreover, all social gatherings will have to be cancelled, meetings will have to be carried out in virtual mode and readying of quarantine and isolation facilities in the station.
For stations recording a positivity rate of two to five per cent in the past week, all returning from outstation leave or temporary duties will be quarantined for a week and tested before release. The advisory states that personnel should resort to teleconsultation if feasible.
It also suggests curtailing all non-essential travel of service personnel and restricting attendance in office, courses or trainings where positivity rate is recorded to be five to 10 per cent and over 10 per cent.
The advisory states that military hospitals will continue providing all Covid-related and emergency services, but postpone cold surgeries. All medical boards will be stopped for the time being.
It further suggests ensuring community engagements and carrying out information campaigns, so that there is no misinformation or panic on the pandemic.
The communication states that all entitled clientele of military hospitals have to be kept well-informed on the availability of medical facilities and local civil hospitals including testing infrastructure.
Other measures suggested ensuring proper health education and strict enforcement for ensuring Covid-appropriate behaviour under the aegis of station commander and taking efforts to reduce overcrowding in offices and dining halls. Food timings in dining halls should be staggered and adequate ventilation to be ensured in personnel lines and offices, it says.
The Army, Navy and Indian Air Force have pitched in since 2020 with resources to help India fight the pandemic—including import of oxygen-generation plants from Germany, ramping up the infrastructure of military hospitals to tackle rising cases, deploying doctors and medical staff of the services to cities reporting maximum cases and transporting oxygen cylinders and essential medicines to Delhi that fell short of these.
Last year, when the country was reeling under a destructive second wave of the pandemic, defence minister Rajnath Singh had asked the forces to pitch in with their resources to help the civil administration fight the crisis.
Read all the Latest India News here
Comments
0 comment