As the Coronavirus outbreak worsens, the Indian Army has postponed all its courses from the coming Monday. The National Defence College (NDC), an institute where senior foreign military officers alongside Indian officers have also been temporarily shut down.
The decisions have been taken as a series of precautionary measures the Army is taking to contain the outbreak of deadly Covid-19. The postponed courses include the senior command course, mandatory for officers taking on command appointments.
Further, the Army said that the ongoing courses will be completed with additional precautions. Moreover, the non-essential training, conferences, and movement have also been cancelled due to Coronavirus.
"As precautionary measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the army, courses starting from coming Monday have been postponed. Courses in progress continue with precautions. All non-essential training, conferences, and movement have been cancelled. All precautions are being taken," the Economic Times quoted an army official as saying.
Army recruitment rally already postponed
Notably, the Army has already cancelled recruitment rallies by a month and has directed its personnel to travel only for essential duties. The personnel is also being asked to use video conference facilities wherever possible. The army has directed all its formations to avoid mass gatherings including festivals and visits to crowded areas.
Army officials added that the NDC has been shut down till 31st March. NDC provides training to selected senior defence, civil services officers and officers from friendly foreign countries in national and international security-related fields. In order to fully quarantine the Indians evacuated from places such as Wuhan, Italy, and Iran, Army has set up facilities in Manesar and Jaisalmer.
Work on additional facilities in Jodhpur, Jhansi, Binnaguri, and Gaya is also under process. Besides, the Indian Navy and Airforce have also established quarantine facilities. Isolation facilities have been set up in INHS Asvini at Mumbai including a camp in Ghatkopar Mumbai to receive the evacuees.
Till now, Covid-19 has infected more than 190,000 people and over 7500 have lost their lives. At the time of filing this report, there are 148 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in India with 3 deaths.
