Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar on Friday said positivity rates were less than 10% in all districts of Tamil Nadu.
“For the first time, the positivity rate is less than 10% in all districts in the State. At one point, the positivity rate was 30% in Chennai and we have brought it down to less than 10%. Now, COVID-19 cases are under control, including in districts such as Cuddalore, Krishnagiri, Coimbatore and Salem,” he told reporters, after inspecting a newly-set up 120-bed ward at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH).
The Minister said the improvement came at a time when there was complete relaxation in lockdown restrictions, including a resumption of public transport services. “This shows that people are aware. But we need to keep in mind that cases are rising in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. We need additional caution to further reduce case count. We need public cooperation,” he said.
He pointed out that the impact of the relaxations on disease transmission would be known in two to three weeks. “The relaxations came into force on September 1. We have crossed two weeks. The incubation period of the virus is 14 days. We will know the trend in a week, but we are continuing with aggressive testing,” he said.
Oxygen facilities
Noting that there were presently 1.42 lakh beds in the State, he said the government had increased oxygen facilities at all medical college hospitals, on a war footing. “We have already instructed colleges to ready 50% of their beds with oxygen support. Of the 1.42 lakh beds, 40,000 have oxygen facilities. We have increased the capacity of tanks and oxygen pipelines, and have procured high-flow nasal cannulas,” he said.
The 120-bed ward at RGGGH is for persons suspected to have symptoms of COVID-19, he said. He said that for some patients, the test results returned negative for COVID-19, even when they had symptoms such as breathlessness, due to lung involvement. “Such wards are being set up in a phased manner at all government medical college hospitals. The reason is that we treat these patients as COVID-19 patients. So, those awaiting their laboratory results, and those with symptoms but negative test results, will be admitted to these wards,” he said.
Over 3,000 persons have visited the “post-COVID-19 follow-up clinic” at RGGGH, he said.
Till date, around ₹71 lakh has been collected as fine from 34,260 persons in the State for violating norms under provisions of the amended Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, he said.
When asked about the difference in the number of tests conducted in the State, in data provided by the State government and the Central government, Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said it was due to the time taken to upload results on the ICMR portal. When compared to other States, Tamil Nadu was prompt in uploading details, accounting for the least time taken, while some States took 10 days.
Replying to a question on the Indian Medical Association, Headquarters’, data that 63 doctors had died due to COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, the Minister said the government’s priority was the safety of its frontline workers. “We have collected the list of doctors from IMA and sent it to the Government of India,” he said.
The Minister also met an eight-year-old boy from Andhra Pradesh, who sustained facial damage in an accident involving a tractor. A team of plastic surgeons from RGGGH have treated the boy. Among others, RGGGH dean E. Theranirajan was present.
