Covid-19 pandemic has caused tremendous distress to nations and humanity. The ‘War Against the Corona Virus’ is long drawn, has sapped the economies and energies of all countries, and the health workers are at the forefront of this struggle. The Indian Army too is playing its part to control the pandemic, and a brief summary of actions done by the Armed Forces is covered in this article.
The Ominous Spread of the Novel Corona Virus
The new decade of the 2020s commenced with alarming reports of cases of severe respiratory illness in China attributed to a new (novel) virus. After initial reassuring messages from the WHO about ‘no human to human’ transmission, it rapidly became apparent that humankind was facing an emerging pandemic. WHO declared the novel Corona Virus outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 Jan 2020, and the Indian Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) commenced preventive measures and circulated several health advisories to ensure that the rampaging virus did not adversely affect the combat capabilities of our troops. Before the WHO officially declared COVID-19 a ‘pandemic’ on 11 Mar 2020, we in the AFMS undertook medical preparedness audits to optimally face this mammoth challenge.