The Greater Chennai Corporation launched a triaging centre for COVID-19 patients at the Island Grounds on Saturday.
This is the largest triaging centre in the city, screening at least 1,000 patients before they are sent to tertiary care hospitals, COVID care centres or home isolation.
Corporation Commissioner G. Prakash said, “This facility will ease the pressure on the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and the Government Stanley Hospital. Mild, moderate and asymptomatic cases need not crowd hospitals. We are mulling over setting up one more centre.”
Special coordinator M.A. Siddique said the triaging centre will start with 600 patients per day and increase to 1,000 in three days. “The number of active cases is more than 33,000 in Chennai. It is likely to increase to 60,000 during the peak. This centre will help us manage the peak,” he said.
As Chennai is registering over 6,000 cases every day, patients are likely to be taken to private medical college hospitals on the city’s outskirts for treatment. Over 4,000 COVID-19 patients in the city are receiving treatment at tertiary care hospitals like the RGGGH, Stanley Government Medical College Hospital, the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, the government hospital at Omandurar estate and private hospitals. Over 30,000 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 are in home isolation. Over 320 doctors are being deployed by the civic body to treat patients in home isolation. The Corporation is planning to collect a fine of ₹2,000 from patients who violate home quarantine norms. At least 1,000 additional oxygen beds would be readied at private medical college hospitals on the city’s outskirts for COVID-19 patients.
“Teams of IAS officers and health professionals are inspecting five private medical colleges on the city’s outskirts to check availability of oxygen beds for COVID-19 patients,” an official said.
