Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan on Thursday said a sufficient number of beds and stock of drugs to treat COVID-19 were there in the state and also urged the people not to panic on increasing coronavirus infections.

Speaking to the media here, Radhakrishnan said drugs to treat COVID-19 and other diseases were available in large quantities and 'people need not worry about that'.

He said the state has about Rs 120 crore worth of drugs which can comfortably last for three months.

He also urged the people not to panic over the increasing coronavirus cases in the state as the death rate was low at 1.35 per cent.

According to Radhakrishnan, in major cities like Chennai and Coimbatore people were getting admitted to hospitals and hence there was some difficulty in getting beds.

The bed occupancy across the state was about 10 per cent, and in Chennai it was about 20 per cent.

He said 'the state government has introduced a screening system on the patients who are to be allotted a bed'.

According to him, the active COVID-19 cases in the state was about 50,000.

"Teams are there to ensure uninterrupted supply of power, oxygen and others at hospitals", he said.

He also said all eligible persons aged 45 and above should be vaccinated and 'it is important to breach the transmission chain by wearing masks and precautions'.