Indian Army issues revised guidelines for personnel as Omicron cases surge
The stations or formations which have a positivity rate between 2-5 per cent, the personnel returning from leave will have to be quarantined for 7 days and tested before release and patients will have to consult the doctors on phone or video call.
FollowNew Delhi: In the wake of surge in Covid-19 new variant “Omicron” cases nationwide, the Indian Army has revised its guidelines for its personnel and suggested interventions focusing on containment testing, contact tracing, quarantine and surveillance.
The advisory which has been issued by the Integrated HQ of Ministry of Defence (Army) asked the stations and formations to conduct Covid-19 test for all the personnel returning from leave, ban social gatherings, and meeting to be held virtually and quarantine facilities should be kept in a state of readiness — where the positivity rate is below 2 per cent.
The stations or formations which have a positivity rate between 2-5 per cent, the personnel returning from leave will have to be quarantined for 7 days and tested before release and patients will have to consult the doctors on phone or video call.
The attendance in office has to be restricted where the cases reported to be between 5-10 per cent. Also, non-essential travel of service personnel and dependents should be curtailed.
The advisory further states that the military hospitals will continue to provide all Covid-related and emergency services. However, the cold surgeries should be postponed.
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For the time being, all medical boards have to be stopped.
It further advised to ensure advance engagement and information campaigns, so that there is no misinformation or panic.
Since the pandemic broke out in early 2020, the Indian Armed Forces, including the Army, the Navy and the Air Force were pitched-in to assist the civil administration in dealing with the Covid-19 spread across the nation.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had asked the armed forces to mobilise their resources in the wake of the second wave of Covid-19 last year, in which many people succumbed to the pandemic.
