As the country battles with the spread of coronavirus, Director general of Armed Forces Medical Services, Lt Gen. Anup Banerji said on Friday that we feel very proud and satisfied to be a part of the national cause.
"We are a tri-services of the Army, Navy and Air Force doctors. We are used to HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) of various sorts. It is basically the training and motivation that we have behind us of all ranks, the anticipation of events which has helped us in whatever we have achieved," he told ANI.
"We are very proud and satisfied to be a part of the national cause. Our efforts started as early as January when we had heard of a respiratory illness which had started in Wuhan. That is where we had started issuing out our advisories. The first advisory came on 24th, much before the first case was detected in India," he added.
The DG AFMS highlighted that they issued over a dozen advisories covering various features.
"The advisories are over a dozen and they have covered various features like --- about the coronavirus, how to establish a quarantine camp, the methodology of receiving evacuees from foreign, how to use PPEs, how to sanitise offices, how to keep your own protective gear," he said.
Referring to the quarantine camps, Banerji said: "The various ways in which we have contributed to the national scene, the international scene -- We have had six such quarantine camps as on date. We had 1463 evacuees and we have 1073 right now out of which two were positive at Hindon and one at Manesar and the success of the camp can be assured by the fact that we have no two persons, two evacuees infecting each other."
He said that they have also been running isolation centres at various stations where these medical camps are run to cater to positive patients and patients with complications.
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Asked about how they are tackling the coronavirus within the Armed Forces, he said: "We have a very disciplined and health-conscious community among us. Those who listen to what is told to them in advisories, those who are aware of what health risks are and those who are concerned about the health of their families."
"The various measures which have been effective in containing, because we had one case as you are aware, the advisories that we have issued has trickled down to lowermost formation. They have been discussed, disseminated and communicated to every person," he said.
He also pointed out that schools have been closed, common congregations, welfare activities have been stopped and courses of instruction have been stopped.
Speaking about the case of coronavirus in Army, he said: "As the standard practice, his remaining colleagues have been put into quarantine camp, a barrack in that unit. They have undergone the tests which are negative. They are healthy. We will have the standard protocol of when to release them."
He also informed that a team had been sent to the Maldives.
"This is our contribution to the international sphere. So this is our PM had assured as a measure to the SAARC community and his request was obviously honoured. We sent a team to the Maldives. They were very successful for capacity building. They have come back with a job very well done," he said.
The DG AFMS noted that ICMR has helped them to establish five labs.
"Initially, the ICMR has helped us to establish five labs. Five are functional and we are creating six in phases II and then we will have phase III. These will be labs which will carry diagnostic tests. We have collection centres in other portions of the country," he said.