It was on December 01 last year that a new type of virus of unknown origin that caused symptoms in human beings that were somewhat similar to Pneumonia, was first reported from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in Central China. Transmitted easily through close human-to-human contact, this new health hazard that turned out to have a high fatality rate especially in the elderly and those with pre-existing diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, was dubbed as Coronavirus abbreviated as COVID-19. With no drug available for treating specially this affliction, the infection spread rapidly like wild fire not only within China, but all across the globe, virulently engulfing large sections of the population of nations especially in Europe such as Italy, France and the United Kingdom (UK). Surprisingly, the United States (US) which is located far away from China, has been one of the nations that has been severely affected by this virus. India too has not been spared, but quite fortunately, with distinctly lower numbers infected and lower fatalities as compared with the nations mentioned above. This is attributable largely to the very timely and stern measures adopted by the central government under directions by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in consonance with the state governments including even those with different political affiliations.

By the end of January this year, the COVID-19 outbreak was initially declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and later a “Pandemic” on March 11, 2020. The Government of India resorted to a “Junta Curfew” on Sunday March 22 this year that was followed by a country-wide lockdown for 21 days commencing on March 25, 2020. During the period of the lockdown, people were required to remain confined to their homes and numerous preventive measured were put in place which included cancellation of all rail and air services, imposition of restrictions on travel by road and any kind of congregation by people for religious or any other purpose, was prohibited. Educational institutions, shopping malls, department stores, gyms, clubs and cinema halls were all ordered to close down. All these measures led to a near total paralytic state for the nation.

The Pandemic has also been described in some quarters as the “Third World War” waged by China. While it may take some time and effort to validate this theory, the fact is that the nation today is faced with a grave situation that could be compared to one during a war thus necessitating intervention by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to battle the threats and impediments arising out of the extended lockdown. The Government of India has issued comprehensive instructions to the IAF directing the service to make available all the required support and assistance to the civil administration that is engaged efforts to keep the situation arising out of COVID-19 under control.

The Government of India has issued comprehensive instructions to the IAF directing the service to make available all the required support and assistance to the civil administration

AIRLIFT CAPABILITY

A major requirement of the nation in this unprecedented crisis has been the need for transportation of large quantities of medicines and medical equipment to all parts of the country especially to the remote areas of the country that even under normal conditions, are not easily accessible. As surface transport by way of goods trains or trucks were not permitted to ply, air transportation by civil aircraft of medical supplies was an option. Unfortunately, the capability of private airlines as also of the national carrier Air India to transport cargo to various locations across the nation, is somewhat limited, deteriorating further under the existing lockdown conditions. Under these circumstances, the fleet of transport aircraft available with the IAF proved to be the most appropriate and convenient solution. The available fleet of C-17 Globemaster III strategic heavy lift aircraft as well as the C-130J Super Hercules tactical transport aircraft were utilised for this purpose.

ENTER THE IAF

Involvement of the IAF to provide proper and speedy response to the COVID-19 crisis and to fight a new enemy, was very professional. The IAF had set up a Crisis Management Cell at Air Headquarters in New Delhi as well as at the different Command Headquarters across the nation to monitor the prevailing situation and provide immediate response and assistance that the situation required. The IAF has been supporting the battle against COVID-19 by airlifting essential medical supplies and commodities to equip the state governments and other supporting agencies to combat the deadly virus effectively. In addition, the IAF is employing smaller aircraft such as the Dornier to carry samples for testing and medical teams that need to be sent to different locations on an urgent basis. The medical supplies include personal protective equipment (PPE), hand sanitisers, surgical gloves, thermal scanners along with the required medical personnel. Regular airlifting of COVID-19 test samples from various locations to Delhi is also being carried. For this task, all transport aircraft of the IAF including An-32. AVRO and Dornier aircraft of the IAF are being employed on ‘as required’ basis. The IAF is adequately geared up to meet all the emerging demands.

The required supplies have been regularly airlifted across the nation extending from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in the Northern Region to Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Bareilly and Agra in the Central region and to Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Mohanbari, Manipur, Nagaland and Gangtok in the North East. Apart from these, there are a number of destinations in South India to which the required medical supplies have been airlifted. The IAF has been playing a critical role in the fight against COVID-19 in Ladakh that remains cut off from the rest of the nation due to snow bound passes in the Himalayas. IAF aircraft are constantly ferrying in medical personnel as well as the needed medical supplies and emergency equipment to Leh and flying out blood samples for COVID-19 testing to Chandigarh and Delhi. Ladakh has reported several positive cases, including the first soldier from the Indian Army to suffer this infection.

The IAF has airlifted critical medical supplies even to Male, the capital of the Maldives in an exercise dubbed as Operation Sanjeevani. Maldives has been suffering from shortage of essential medical supplies as its connectivity with India which its main source of medical supplies, was disrupted after lockdown on account of COVID-19.

QUARANTINE FACILITIES

Apart from providing air transportation for medical personnel and supplies, the IAF has created nine quarantine centres at the major IAF stations across the country with capacity of each facility ranging from 200 to 300 personnel. In addition, every station also has a quarantine centre with a capacity for 50 to 60 persons which can be expanded further. Also, the Command Hospital Air Force at Bengaluru located on the Old Airport Road, has been designated as the first laboratory in the IAF to undertake COVID-19 testing. This will significantly enhance the nation’s ability to carry out quick testing of suspected cases and allow prompt and timely intervention where required. The IAF continues to take measures to provide all possible assistance to the civil administration across the country in containing the spread of COVID-19. Quarantine facilities created at IAF bases across the country continue to be functional.

EVACUATION OF PERSONNEL

The Government of India has undertaken evacuation from several countries in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak to bring back Indian citizens as well as nationals from other countries. While a significant part of this task is and has been handled by the Air India, the transport fleet of the IAF has also lent a helping hand. On February 26 this year, a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft of the IAF evacuated 112 passengers from Hubei province in China. Among these, 76 were Indian citizens and the remaining 36 were citizens of Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives, China, the US, Madagascar and South Africa. On the way out to Wuhan, as a goodwill gesture, the IAF C-17 aircraft had carried 15 tonnes of medical supplies for COVID-19 victims in China.

On March 10, 2020, a C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the IAF airlifted 58 Indian pilgrims, all evacuees from COVID-19 hit Iran, arrived at the IAF base at Hindon. All 58 passengers on board were quarantined at Hindon where the IAF had established the required facilities to provide adequate care and support and had activated the necessary medical protocols. The C-17 aircraft had also brought 529 samples for investigation.

THE FINAL WORD

The IAF is ever ready and geared up to meet all the emerging needs of the nation and to support the ongoing war against the COVID-19 Pandemic.