As the new COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Tiruppur district, the Health Department has prepared over 400 beds in COVID-19 care centres (CCC) across the district, said Deputy Director of Health Services K. Jegadeesh Kumar on Friday.
He told TheHindu the district administration had decided to ramp up the precautionary measures in view of the rising caseload. While 600 beds had been planned in total in four CCCs in the first phase, over 400 beds had been prepared and more would be added as per the situation.
All hospitals in Tiruppur district had sufficient availability of medical oxygen and the number of COVID-19 positive patients in need of admission in intensive care units had been less so far, he said.
As part of the precautionary measure, Dr. Kumar said the Health Department had increased the number of swab samples lifted per day to 5,000 to ensure better tracking of COVID-19 cases. Doctors in all government hospitals had been apprised of the latest treatment protocols, he said.
For improved screening of patients, 13 triage centres (one per Block) in the district limits and four triage centres in Tiruppur Corporation limits had been set up, he added. Private hospitals would be monitored regarding the fees they charged for COVID-19 treatment and action would be initiated in case of irregularities, according to Dr. Kumar.
Regarding vaccination, the second dose coverage among the 19,95,300 beneficiaries aged 18 years and above was around 63.3%. Over 94% of the beneficiaries had received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine so far. Efforts to boost the vaccination drive across Tiruppur district would also be taken amid the rising cases, Dr. Kumar said.
