COVID-19: Defence Minister asks Army Chief, Defence Secy, DRDO chief to offer expertise, facilities to civilians

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday directed the Army Chief MM Naravane to instruct local commanders to reach out to Chief Ministers of states and offer whatever help possible in dealing with the COVID-19 situation.

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday spoke to the Army Chief MM Naravane, Defence Secretary and chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and asked them to offer available facilities and expertise to civilians during the ongoing COVID crisis.

Singh also directed Army Chief MM Naravane to instruct local commanders to reach out to Chief Ministers of states and offer whatever help possible in dealing with the COVID-19 situation. Following this, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar also issued instructions that during the current surge of coronavirus cases, 67 Cantt Board Hospitals across India be advised to ensure medical service to patients both Cantt residents and non-residents.

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India is currently witnessing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. India registered 1,761 Covid deaths in the last 24 hours, the biggest one-day spike, and over 2.59 lakh new cases.

According to the Health Ministry, there are currently 19,29,329 active cases in the country as of Monday. The death toll reached 1,78,769, including 1,761 in the last 24 hours.

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The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Monday has supplied 150 jumbo cylinders of medical oxygen to the Uttar Pradesh government, as per directions by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

An additional 1,000 cylinders would be provided by the DRDO later. The oxygen would be supplied to hospitals in Lucknow for COVID-19 patients. The COVID-19 situation in Uttar Pradesh has deteriorated further with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself testing positive on Wednesday.

ANI