A total of 3,374 pregnant women have tested positive for COVID-19 so far and have been treated at COVID-19 maternity facilities, according to Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar.
“These pregnant women had normal deliveries and caesarean sections at exclusive COVID-19 facilities,” he said. The Minister was taking part in a programme at the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital on Wednesday, during which the Rotary Club of Guindy donated a vehicle, a portable ECG and a cell counter.
To a question on the State reporting over 100 fatalities in the last two days, he said that of them, the cause was COVID-19 in less than 10 deceased. Among these persons, the lungs were affected, leading to cytokine storm and hypoxia.
“The others died of underlying diseases. Many had co-morbidities, such as obesity, uncontrollable diabetes, uncontrollable hypertension, tuberculosis, asthma and cardiac ailments. This is why we are stressing on the need to seek treatment early,” he said.
He said that persons should not ignore symptoms of fever, cough, body ache, fatigue, loss of smell and taste. “A person’s condition turns critical when he/she ignores fever for two to three days and the lungs get affected. This becomes a challenge for doctors. Do not ignore early symptoms and delay treatment,” he said.
ICU beds
The Minister also inspected the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), where 150 beds have been readied for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on the first floor of tower-3. “The unit is for emergency patients and those referred from other hospitals in a critical condition. The unit is well-equipped with high-flow nasal cannulas and ventilators,” he said.
The hospital already has 1,000 beds for COVID-19 patients. Another 1,000 beds have been arranged to meet any needs in the future. He added that nearly 15,000 COVID-19 patients had been treated so far at the RGGGH. “The hospital has set up a zero-delay ward for COVID-19 patients and has also established a pre-arrival intimation system,” he said.
The death reconciliation committee continues to analyse deaths and report them, the Minister added. “For instance, the Government Royapettah Hospital is not a COVID-19 hospital. So, if a person dies there, we conduct a test and if the sample returns positive for COVID-19, we include them in the COVID-19 toll,” he said, replying to a question on why some deaths were reported late in the bulletin.
He added that 25,000 persons had utilised the tele-consultation platform, e-sanjeevini, in Tamil Nadu.
