The State government is prepared to release sufficient funds for anti-COVID-19 operations in Tirunelveli, according to M. Karunakaran, Special Officer for monitoring anti-pandemic operations in the district.
Chairing a review meeting here on Monday, Dr. Karunakaran, who is Secretary, Department of Handlooms and Textiles, interacted with the heads of various departments to ascertain the work carried out in the wake of admission of 55 positive patients in Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TMCH).
He expressed satisfaction over the steps taken by the district administration in containing the virus and said the State government was ready to provide sufficient and additional funds, if need be.
TMCH Dean M. Ravichandran said the hospital had 63 ventilators and 19 were to be added in the near future.
Dr. Karunakaran, former Collector of the district, wanted to know how many of them were in use to which Dr. Ravichandran replied that all ventilators were ready to be used.
Collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish said a ventilator each had been reserved to treat a pregnant, positive patient and those undergoing dialysis if they too tested positive.
To Dr. Karunakaran’s query about the steps taken by the district administration to screen the physically challenged, orphans and senior citizens living in homes, Ms. Shilpa said the vulnerable sections were screened in a special door-to-door exercise organised by the Department of Social Welfare and the District Differently abled Welfare Officer with the help of the primary health centre concerned.
“We have identified and screened 852 physically challenged living homes or in below poverty line families through primary health centres,” the Collector added.
Corporation Commissioner G. Kannan said the civic body deployed hand-held, vehicle-mounted and gun sprayers as part of the disinfectant operation, besides using a drone. It was about to commission BHEL-fabricated ‘mist sprayer’ to make the exercise more effective.
The Corporation was disinfecting ‘containment zones’ thrice a day and vegetable markets and grocery stores twice a day — in the morning before start of business and after 1 p.m. following the end of sale for the day.
Ms. Shilpa added that the 17,672 houses within the eight ‘containment zones’ comprising Tirunelveli Town, Melapalayam, Kodeeswaran Nagar, Pettai, Kalakkad, Pattamadai and Valliyoor were being disinfected everyday.
Superintendent of Police, Tirunelveli, Om Prakash Meena, and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Tirunelveli City, S. Saravanan gave details about the number of cases filed against violators of the lockdown and vehicles seized. “We are using social media platforms effectively to serve the public with the help of volunteers.”
The Collector said the rice mills in the district had been allowed to resume operations to avert shortage of supply. “For other essential commodities, for which we are relying upon suppliers from other districts and other States, the State-level monitoring committee is being alerted regularly so that there will no shortage for any essential commodity here.”
Dr. Karunakaran told the meeting that the State government, which had armed local bodies, public health department and Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital with adequate equipment, was prepared to release additional funds for the district, if the situation demanded.
On the delay in the arrival of ‘rapid test kits’, he said the State government was taking all-out efforts to get the equipment early.
Additional Director General of Police and another Special Officer, Mahesh Kumar Agarwal, Commissioner of Police, Tirunelveli City, Deepak M. Damor and Deputy Inspector General of Police, Praveen Kumar Abinapu, were present.
Dr. Karunakaran and Mr. Mahesh Kumar Agarwal have decided to camp here over the next two weeks to accelerate anti-COVID-19 operations in Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari and Virudhunagar districts.
