Local bodies in Kozhikode district will purchase 19,500 pulse oximeters as part of their COVID management measures. A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday. Ministers T.P. Ramakrishnan and A.K. Saseendran attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, the MLAs-designate will lead the fund raising campaign to set up ventilators in COVID hospitals. All beds in government hospitals will be connected to the oxygen grid in one week. The district administration will request the State government to provide more ventilators, as many patients from other districts are coming to Kozhikode for treatment.
District Collector Seeram Sambasiva Rao said the district was ready to handle up to 50,000 COVID cases at a time, even a year ago. Oxygen beds were set up in taluk hospitals as part of that plan. However, as the number of patients is going beyond the expected limits, arrangements are being made to accommodate 75,000 patients at a time, he added.
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Special attention is being given to coastal areas where the disease is spreading fast. Mobile vaccination facilities are being arranged for the bed-ridden and elderly. More sectoral magistrates are being appointed to ensure that the public followed the COVID protocol in local bodies where the test positivity rate remains high.
District panchayat president Kanathil Jameela, MLAs-designate, Additional District Magistrate N. Premachandran and Deputy Collector N. Ramla attended the meeting.