The Northern Command of the Army has asked its troops returning from leave or outstation duties to report directly to the screening centres established at various transit camps in Jammu and Kashmir as part of its efforts to check the spread of coronavirus, an official said on Thursday.
He said after the medical screening the troops are beingquarantined for 14 days in isolation rooms established in the units.
The Indian Army’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19 havegained momentum in the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, PRO of northerncommand Lt Col Abhinav Navneet said.
A number of measures are being taken by the Army to preventthe epidemic amongst its personnel so that they are available to do theirprimary task and to support people in the fight against coronavirus, he said.
“Troops returning from leave or out station dutiesdirectly report to the screening centres established at various transitcamps,” the PRO said.
To maintain social distancing, distance between beds in thebarracks has been increased, to avoid crowding in dining halls meals are servedat staggered timings and adequate hand washing points are in place, he said.
The PRO added that at the unit level, a dynamic andjudicious approach has been adopted by all ranks of the Indian Army tocontribute to the efforts being made against coronavirus under its new mission’Corona Mukt Awam’ or coronavirus-free population.
The slogan “I will neither get infected nor will Iinfect others” is being “aggressively followed” by Armypersonnel, he said.
“Surveillance and control measures have been put inplace and a number of innovative awareness programmes are being run by thefield formations and units for the benefit of the populace, particularly inrural areas. Advisories by medical specialists on identification of andprecautions against fomites has been issued to all in text and audio visualformats,” Lt Col Navneet said.
He said Army personnel are being motivated to share theinformation with their families, friends and civilians in the areas of theirdeployment.
A total of 17 helplines in the two UTs of Ladakh&J&K for the public have been established by the troops of Northern Command.
The Mobile Vehicle Check Posts that are usually deployed forCounter Terrorist operations are innovatively educating the populace onCOVID-19 by way of audio broadcasts through loudspeakers and hailers, he said.
Multiple advisories on social media including Audio VideoContent have been posted using the Twitter handle of Northern Command and thesame can be accessed by the public.”The Army as an organization is proactivelytaking all measures. Drills have been set in. Should there be a situation toextend facilities to the civil administration, medical personnel and units arebuilding their capacities, non-medical personnel are being taught to activelycontribute to the care of patients and effort is on to enhance equipmentholdings,” the personnel said.