Coronavirus: Quarantine facilities set up in several cities with help of Navy & Airforce

As Coronavirus continues to be spread across the country, quarantine facilities have been set up in various places including Jaisalmer, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Gorakhpur.  Earlier on Saturday, the Indian Army had created an additional quarantine facility in Jaisalmer for the Indian citizens who returned from abroad amid the Coronavirus outbreak. As per reports, the facility can fit around 1,000 people at one time. 

Director-General Medical Services (Army) Lieutenant General RS Grewal spoke to news agency and apprised about the development saying, 

"Quarantine facilities have been set up in Jaisalmer, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Gorakhpur, Chennai, Surat, Jhansi and other places with the help of Airforce and Navy." 

Meanwhile, the total number of positive cases in India has soared up to around 114, including 17 foreign nationals.

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Indian Army's medical team in Maldives to set up Coronavirus testing labs

Furthermore, after the government of India decided to assist the Maldives to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic as a humanitarian gesture, a team of Indian Army medical personnel including six doctors and eight paramedics was deployed in the Maldives from March 13. Army spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said on Monday stated that the team will set up a viral testing lab.

Earlier, the Maldives had requested the Indian government to supply protective gear and masks. The Maldives also participated in the SAARC video conference on ways to combat COVID-19 spread. 

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The Coronavirus crisis

As of date, the total number of positive cases in India has soared up to around 114, including 17 foreign nationals. The maximum cases of the virus have been reported in Maharashtra and Kerala. Apart from it, two deaths have been reported in Kalaburagi and West Delhi respectively.

India has suspended all visas, barring for a few categories such as diplomatic and employment apart from keeping in abeyance the visa-free travel facility to OCI cardholders till April 15.

First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel Coronavirus has affected nearly 148 countries in the world. Presently, there are over 168,019 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of 6,610 people. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to treat COVID-19, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its scope. So far, China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases of the Novel Coronavirus.

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