The city Corporation has launched three ambulances for transporting COVID-19 patients to hospitals.
The civic body tied up with a private agency on a temporary basis to launch the services. The arrangement was made, as purchasing an ambulance will take around 15 to 20 days. The Corporation has begun the proceedings to purchase ambulances of its own through Government e-Marketplace. It currently has two ambulances, which transports dead bodies to the electric crematorium.
The Corporation has also begun talks with autorickshaw unions to find those willing to take people to testing centres. According to Corporation officials, some autorickshaw drivers were reluctant to take up the work. The Corporation will be providing protective gear and arranging partition between the driver’s and the passengers’ seats in the autorickshaws.
The unions also demanded health insurance for the drivers who are signing up, which the local body finds to be a financial burden. Now, councillors have been asked to identify autorickshaw drivers at the local level who are willing to be part of the initiative.
Mayor Arya Rajendran will inaugurate the expanded COVID-19 control room at the Corporation on Wednesday. The training for the call centre volunteers and medical teams were conducted here on Tuesday. The Corporation will work with Consumerfed to deliver essentials and medicines at home to the city residents. The Mayor held a meeting with the Consumerfed regional manager regarding this.
