The minister said there is no case of ‘Omicron’ in Tamil Nadu.
Chennai:
More facilities, including special wards in public sector hospitals and enhanced surveillance and testing, are among the several measures taken by the authorities aimed at tackling the challenge of ‘Omicron’, the Tamil Nadu government said on Monday.
Health Minister Ma Subramaniam inspecting 50 beds at Omandurar Medical College Hospital, a government multi super specialty facility in Chennai, as a precautionary measure, said 15 beds are for intensive care and the remaining 35 are for specialized treatment.
Similar facilities ranging from 50 to 150 beds have been created in district headquarters hospitals and medical college hospitals across the state. Stating that such hospitals have necessary facilities including medical equipment and oxygen supply, he said Tamil Nadu has the best laboratories for RT-PCR testing.
On increased surveillance and tracking measures as compared to air transport, the minister said that out of 5,858 people who reached Tamil Nadu, including 5,249 from 11 high-risk countries, were found infected in the past one week. Delta Plus variant.
He said that for reconfirmation, samples of these six people have been sent to Bengaluru-based Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (InStem) and the results are awaited.
Of the six people, three are being treated at a government hospital in Guindy, Chennai, two others at a private hospital and another at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kanyakumari district.
Another returnee, though he did not have any specific symptoms, however, has been put under isolation at his home in Kumbakonam as a precautionary measure.
The returnees who tested positive on arrival were from the UK, US and Singapore.
The minister said those who traveled in the front and rear seats of air passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 and air hostesses of such flights were also screened and those found infected were isolated. been done.
He said that there is no case of ‘Omicron’ in Tamil Nadu.
The minister said Tamil Nadu has achieved immunization coverage of 80.44 per cent in respect of the first dose and 47.46 per cent in respect of the second.
He said that on December 11, the 14th mega vaccination camp would be organized at 50 thousand places in the state and appealed to the people to take advantage of it.
A government bulletin said 10 people died of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu and the death toll stood at 36,539.
Active cases stand at 8,013 while 719 people tested positive for the virus. So far 27,31,235 people have been infected and 26,86,683 people have been discharged after treatment.
On December 6, a total of 1,01,255 samples (RT-PCR) were tested and a total of 5,48,85,228 samples were tested.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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