Arrangements made for 200-bedded isolation facility in Coimbatore

March 17, 2020 12:36 am | Updated 12:37 am IST - Coimbatore

Staff from Animal Husbandry Department spray disinfectant on vehicles coming from Kerala at Walayar check-post on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border near Coimbatore on Monday in the  wake of avian influenza (bird flu). (Right) Forest Department has closed entry to visitors to Kovai Courtallam from Monday.

Staff from Animal Husbandry Department spray disinfectant on vehicles coming from Kerala at Walayar check-post on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border near Coimbatore on Monday in the wake of avian influenza (bird flu). (Right) Forest Department has closed entry to visitors to Kovai Courtallam from Monday.

Stepping up preparedness against COVID-19 outbreak, the district administration and Health Department have decided to set up a 200-bedded facility, belonging to an educational institution near Karumathampatti, to be used if the district faces a situation to quarantine more persons who have symptoms of the viral infection or history of travel in places affected by the virus.

This facility will not be used to treat persons under observation, but will have a doctor to monitor them.

The Revenue Department identified the facility and Collector K. Rajamani will inspect the arrangements on Tuesday. The facility will be ready for the purpose from Tuesday evening.

Already, two isolation wards are functional at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital and Government Medical College and ESI Hospital, Coimbatore.

Mr. Rajamani urged the public to avoid travel to COVID-19-affected places in Kerala and Karnataka as precaution.

After launching a sanitisation drive at the Collectorate on Monday before starting the weekly grievances redress meeting, he told journalists health workers were screening people travelling to Coimbatore from Kerala at eight check-posts along the border. He said that action would be taken against those selling essential commodities like mask and sanitiser at exorbitant prices.

According to him, students from Kerala, who study in colleges in Coimbatore, have been advised to avoid travel to their native places. Similarly, students, who travel from Kerala to Coimbatore on daily basis, are placed under observation. Arrangements are made to collect reports from colleges functioning along Tamil Nadu-Kerala border to check details of students who have flu-like symptoms.

Mr. Rajamani also urged people and organisations to avoid public gatherings till March 31. The district administration was also mooting efforts to reduce gathering of people in religious places too.

Meanwhile, staff of the Department of Animal Husbandry sprayed disinfectant solution on heavy vehicles coming from Kerala as a precaution against avian flu reported in some districts of the neighbouring State.

Health Department staff were already sanitising buses coming from Kerala after every trip. Occupancy of buses coming from Kerala was minimal on Monday. Apart from buses, Health Department staff also screened persons coming from Kerala on two-wheelers and in cars.

Tourist spots in Coimbatore namely Kovai Courtallam, Baralikadu eco tourism centre and Monkey Falls remained closed on Monday. Visitors will not be allowed to these places till March 31.

As per the government directive, functioning of kindergarten and classes I to V in schools were suspended from Monday.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.