NEW DELHI: IAF has so far airlifted around 60 tonnes of medical supplies and other relief material to various parts of the country as part of the national effort to combat the spread of coronavirus , even as the force keeps 28 aircraft and 21 helicopters on hot standby for any contingency.IAF has also flown special flights of C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift aircraft to China and Iran to evacuate Indian nationals and ferry medical supplies. On Thursday, a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft also airlifted 6.2 tonnes of essential medicines and hospital consumables to Male on the special request of the Maldivian government.“IAF’s Dornier aircraft and Mi-17 helicopters have also positioned medical supplies at Gorakhpur for transportation to Nepal by road. The Navy has also kept six warships on standby for assistance to neighbouring countries, while medical teams are ready for deployment if required in Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan ,” said an officer.On the national front, IAF has been ferrying medicines, personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers, surgical gloves, thermal scanners and other supplies on a regular basis to J&K, Ladakh, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and other places. “Regular airlift of Covid-19 test samples from Ladakh to Delhi is also being carried out,” said the officer.As for the quarantine facilities being run by the armed forces at Mumbai, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Hindon, Manesar and Chennai, officials said 403 out of the 1,737 people housed in them have been released till now. “In addition, 15 other facilities are being kept ready for use if required,” said another official.“Similarly, dedicated Covid-19 facilities, including high dependency units and intensive care unit beds are being prepared in 51 hospitals of the armed forces across the country. Some of these facilities are located at Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Dundigal (near Hyderabad), Bengaluru, Kanpur, Jaisalmer, Jorhat and Gorakhpur,” he added.