Gen Naravane said the Army established various hospitals in the metros and also in other areas

Covid is another kind of war and the Army stepped in by pulling out every resource and has left no stone unturned in providing relief to the people of the country, Army chief Gen MM Naravane said on Thursday as he expressed satisfaction that the infrastructure created will help the country sail through any third wave “that may or may not occur”.

Talking to a select group of journalists before returning to the national capital after completing his two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Gen Naravane said he was happy that Covid-19 cases in the country are seeing a decline.

“I think we are well on the way to beating the second wave that has taken place and as a result of capacities that we have built up over the last month or month and a half, I think we are much prepared to tackle any third wave that may or may not occur,” he said.

Talking about the pandemic, he said Covid is another kind of a war that the country is fighting. “I don’t think there is any single family which has not been affected by Covid.

“And, therefore, it is our responsibility as armed forces of the nation that in this hour of need to do whatever we can for the help of our citizens. After all, if we are there, we are there for you all, for the people of the country and therefore we have left no stone unturned, we have spared no resources to help out in this hour of need,” he said.

Gen Naravane said the Army established various hospitals in the metros and also in other areas, helped local administration in setting up additional beds, in repairing their oxygen plants, and in providing oxygen cylinders.

“We have pulled out our own medical staff, our doctors from less affected areas and deployed them in more pressure stations and areas where there were more Covid cases. But I am happy to say that overall, in the country, the number of Covid cases have now seen a downturn.”

The Army, along with other armed forces, have taken several pro-active steps in helping in treating people infected with coronavirus. Besides doctors, nursing attendants, the armed forces have roped in Battlefield Nursing Assistants (BFNA) to help fight the second wave of Covid-19.

BFNAs are generally trained in providing basic healthcare facilities in combat situations which include administering injections and helping in breathing exercises.

Special Covid hospitals have been set up in various parts of the country including two in Jammu and Kashmir by the armed forces to help state and union territory administrations in tackling the pandemic.