Apart from 521 bed strength at the Government hospital here for admitting patients testing positive for COVID-19 virus, the district administration has established two more new facilities with 100 beds each, said District Collector P Madhusudan Reddy here on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters after a review meeting with the officials and doctors from the Health Department, he said that as a precautionary measure, 100 beds each have been kept ready at Pannai Engineering College campus in Sivaganga and at SMH Hospital, Tirupathur. Already, there were 72 beds in Amaravathipudur TB Hospital, he added.
The Collector said that within about three hours of screening (taking swabs), the results were sent by SMS to the patients who tested positive. With the coordination of block level officers, health inspectors and village health nurses, the patients were moved to the hospital and treated.
There was no need for panic, Mr. Madhusudan Reddy said and appealed to the people to remain indoors all the time. This would help the official machinery to fight the virus at a faster pace. The government, he said, had imposed night curfew and stressed the people to cooperate
He said that fever clinics that have opened up across the district had to a great extent helped in early identification of fever, cough and other ailments. The Health department had conducted 27,219 fever clinics and 11.77 lakh people were screened.
The Collector said that people above 45 years were advised to get the vaccine dose at designated vaccine centres including GH and Primary Health Centres. So far, 45,943 persons had been inoculated. The vaccine shortage was being addressed and there would not be any issues, he hoped.
The district, according to the media bulletin released by the Department of Health, had 7821 persons with COVID-19 as on date. So far, 7,270 had been discharged and 422 people were identified as ‘active cases’.