Over 8,000 beds are kept ready in the district and they will be used as and when there is an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, according to the Health Department.
The district administration and the Health Department are working on increasing the number of beds for COVID-19 treatment and setting up COVID-19 care centres at available space.
Officials said they were working on having double the number of beds compared to the first wave of the disease.
About 4,000 beds had been in use at present in the district.
As on Wednesday, about 1,001 beds were arranged at the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital and at the government hospitals in Attur, Mettur, Edappadi and Omalur.
At the Salem hospital alone, which is the tertiary care centre here, 650 beds had been arranged for COVID-19 treatment.
According to the doctors, there were 70 beds with ventilator facilities and oxygen supply had been arranged to 400 beds.
The officials said there were seven COVID-19 care centres functioning in the district at present and 750 beds were there including the Siddha-based centre in Gorimedu.
As on Wednesday, only 225 patients were undergoing treatment at these facilities and 525 beds were available. Besides, over 2,000 beds were available at the private facilities.
City health officials said while there were 440 beds in the COVID-19 care centres during the first wave, they were working on having over 1,000 beds in the Corporation limits alone during the second wave.
