A total of 51,211 non-resident Tamils from other countries have returned to Tamil Nadu through Vande Bharat and Samudra Setu missions so far, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Wednesday.
In his opening remarks made during a video conference meeting of all District Collectors, Mr. Palaniswami said a total of 4,18,903 guest workers were sent to their native States from Tamil Nadu so far.
Elaborating on the steps being taken by the State government to contain the spread of COVID-19, he said all necessary efforts were being taken continuously to implement the lockdown carefully and safely.
House-to-house checking was being undertaken and conducting RT-PCR tests, containment measures were part of the efforts being taken, he said. Over 24.7 lakh persons had been tested so far and over 63,000 persons were being tested in a day, he said.
A total of 54,091 beds in COVID-19 hospitals, 64,903 beds in COVID-19 special hospitals and 25,538 beds with oxygen supply, 3,962 beds in ICUs and 2,882 ventilators were available in the State, the Chief Minister said.
Over 15,000 additional medical staff, including 2,751 doctors and 6,893 nurses had been recruited, he said. The government would commence the distribution of free face masks through the ration shops from August 5, he said.
Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam, Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar, Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam, Director-General of Police J.K. Tripathy, secretaries of several government departments and senior officials were present during the meeting.
