Army reaches out to people, appeals for cooperation to tackle coronavirus threat

To contain the spread of novel coronavirus, the Army on Saturday reached out to the public in rural areas here to bring about awareness about the disease and appealed to them for their cooperation in tackling the threat.

The Sabre Brigade of Jammu-based Rising Star Corps in coordination with the district administration of Samba and Jammu organised a medical camp at Ratnuchak under their civic action project to address the concerns on COVID-19, a defence spokesman said.

He said General Officer Commanding, Rising Star Corps, Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi also visited the camp and was briefed by Commander Sabre Brigade Brigadier Vishal Singh on the prevailing health and local issues.

"The GOC interacted with local populace, appreciated the dedicated efforts of organisers, team of doctors from Army and civil and appealed towards precious contribution from all to fight this pandemic," the spokesman said.

He said a large number of locals from nearby rural areas including members of the Gujjar and Bakarwal settlements who have limited access to quality medical care availed the facility.

Wide publicity and awareness ensured large attendance while hand sanitizers and masks were distributed to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus, the spokesman said.

He said the locals availed the facilities of specialists including a gynaecologist, paediatrician, ophthalmologist, ENT, dentist and veterinarian ensuring a compressive medical cover that provided the locals with a single point medical solution to their health issues.

The camp provided quality diagnosis, treatment and awareness against novel coronavirus to the poor and needy sections of the society, the spokesman said, adding that wheelchair and mobility aids were also distributed among the needy.