Navy ramps up bed capacity at hospitals, prepares places for quarantine amid Omicron threat

In light of the emergence of Omicron, the new variant of coronavirus, the Indian Navy has issued directions for following COVID-19 protocols, ramped up bed capacity at hospitals and prepared places for quarantine, a senior official said on Friday. The Navy will walk the extra mile to help the Maharashtra government during the pandemic, said Vice-Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, the Commanding-in Chief, Western Naval Command.

"We have recently issued a pan-Navy diktat that Omicron is a variant of concern, and have laid down certain provisions that we are going to follow within the Navy, which includes all the parameters of the COVID protocol and compliance of the state government directives, and maintain a clear and distinct COVID-19 hygiene and system," Singh told reporters.

The Navy has ramped up the bed capacity at its hospitals and has also prepared places for quarantine, he said.


"We look forward to interacting with the state government. If they need any help, we will be able to provide it and we are more than willing to walk that extra mile," the Vice-Admiral said.

The aim is to save lives irrespective to whom they belong, he added.