New Delhi: Top Army officials have said that 90-95 per cent of the Indian Army soldiers have been given the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, with field formation prioritized throughout the campaign. About 50 to 55 percent of the forces have been vaccinated with the second dose.
“When the country was being relaxed, there was no inaction in the army, compulsory quarantine period was being followed,” said an official.
According to data shared by the Ministry of Defense in the Indian Parliament in the month of March, 33,003 positive cases were detected in the Army, 8159 in the Air Force, and 3604 were the lowest in the Navy. The Army reported 81 personnel deaths, the Air Force reported 36 deaths while the Navy reported 2 deaths due to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, as cases are rising in the midst of the second wave of the Covid epidemic in the country, senior army officers in every state have been asked to negotiate with civilian counterparts to deal with the situation.
Earlier today, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the meeting through video conference. The meeting was attended by all service heads, CDS, all secretaries, DRDO President and DG AFMS.
Defense Research and Development Organization has developed Covid facilities with 250 beds in Delhi, which will be increased to 500. The organization is working on a war footing to set up a 450-bed hospital in Lucknow, a 750-bed hospital in Varanasi and a 900-bed hospital in Ahmedabad.