Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Minister, Ma. Subramanian on Tuesday, told the Legislative Assembly that there was no need to panic about the spread of the variants of coronavirus, as these were not life-threatening, and no patient had so far been treated in the intensive care unit, during the recent surge in cases.
Responding to a special calling attention motion moved by Opposition leaders, the Minister said the “infection is mild” and was spreading in a gradual manner. “Only individuals are affected, and there are no cluster of infections,” he clarified.
According to Mr. Subramanian, the deaths of five persons over the past 24 hours were “incidental” and the government had declared these deaths as COVID-19 deaths in order to grant them with financial assistance.
The Minister also said the wearing of masks had been made mandatory at all healthcare facilities in the State, and this would be extended to public spaces, commercial complexes, theatres, and public meetings only if the daily COVID-19 infection numbers increased to 500 or 1,000.
“The number of cases in Tamil Nadu was 386 in the past 24 hours, while the country has recorded 5,872 cases,” he said, adding that drills were being conducted in all districts by Collectors to ensure the availability of medicines, beds, vehicles and oxygen.
The Minister said when the DMK government came to power in 2021, the availability of oxygen was 230 metric tonnes and this has been increased to 2,067 tonnes. “The government, led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, is ready to face any crisis,” he said.
