Around 1,500 tests were being done in Madurai district each day, said District Monitoring Officer B. Chandra Mohan here on Thursday.
In an online interaction with media persons on Thursday, he said Madurai would continue to see a rise in the number of cases until the ‘hockey-stick curve’ reaches a plateau.
Targeted testing was more important than mass testing. To prepare for the surge, 10 strategies were being worked out to prevent high mortality rate. “Whenever we find symptomatic cases, we ensure that they are contained within 24 hours. If they are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms, they can be placed under monitored home isolation. Health workers will ensure door-to-door surveillance to keep the infection in check,” he said. A tele-medicine consultation unit had been inaugurated and it will have electronic health records of the number of cases in home isolation. Madurai Kamaraj university, Tamil Nadu Agricultural College and Thiagarajar Engineering College had accommodated patients who could not be placed under home isolation.
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Government Rajaji Hospital had set aside 1,400 beds, including 525 with oxygen suppport. “We have asked private hospitals to allot 40% of their beds to COVID-19 patients,” he said. Collector T. G. Vinay and Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan participated in the meeting.