35 deaths, 20,000 Covid-19 cases in the armed forces

NEW DELHI: The over 15-lakh armed forces have recorded 35 deaths due to the Covid-19 pandemic till now, with the total number of cases in their ranks being around 20,000 at present.
In a written reply in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, minister of state for defence Shripad Naik said the number of Covid-19 cases in the Army, Navy and IAF stood at 16,758, 1,365 and 1,716, respectively.
While the number of deceased in the Army are 32, there have been three such cases in the IAF. “As per the extant rules, there is no special compensation for deaths occurring due to infectious diseases while in service. However, all deaths while in service are awarded terminal benefits,” he said.
Listing out the various steps to tackle the impact of the pandemic, the minister said the armed forces had developed the requisite infrastructure in all their hospitals.
“Beginning in March, procurement of essential equipment for military hospitals to tackle Covid-19 cases was undertaken. Supply orders for ventilators, oxygen concentrators, hand thermal guns, multipara monitors, PPE, face masks, sanitizers, disinfectants etc, were placed,” he said.
With the defence minister also sanctioning emergency procurement powers for procurement of additional equipment like RT-PCR machines and test kits, there are currently 27 such functional laboratories in the Armed Forces Medical Services.
“Facilities have also been set up in all military stations where troops are quarantined after returning from leave for 14 days. Any person developing symptoms during quarantine is immediately tested and isolated, if found positive,” he said.