With the sudden surge in the daily cases of COVID-19, the district administrations of Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet and Tirupattur have allocated more than 1,000 beds with adequate oxygen-supported beds and ICU beds to take care of the affected people, with a team of medical staff, on Thursday. Vellore has allotted the highest number of beds 500, followed by Ranipet (350). Tiruvannamalai and Tirupattur have 200 beds each. In other words, the government taluk hospital in each block, on an average, has at least 10 beds. “We have only three cases admitted in hospital in the district. Most of the cases are under home isolation,” R. Selvakumar, Deputy Director of Health Services (DDHS), Tiruvannamalai, told The Hindu. Health officials said that the surge in cases was mainly due to the floating population, especially those travelling for work and studies to big cities like Chennai, Bengaluru and Coimbatore. Screening has been stepped up with more people being tested in these districts every day. On an average, 500 persons are being screened in each of these districts. Vaccination centres have been created at key railway stations like Katpadi, Gudiyatham, Jolarpet, Walajah, Ranipet, Arakkonam, Ambur and Tirupattur as these are important entry points on the Bengaluru route. Besides screening commuters arriving at railway stations, for suspected symptoms of the infection, vaccination is also being offered there, officials said.
