The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will be reopening some of its COVID-19 care centres to prevent the spread of infected cases. Urban community centres at Injambakkam in Shollinganallur zone and Manjambakkam will be converted into COVID-care centres, sources in the civic body informed IANS.
The GCC will be planning 200 beds in these two centres and if necessary the COVID-care centre at Chennai Trade Centre in Nandambakkam that can accommodate 1,000 patients will also be opened. The Chennai civic body has made preliminary arrangements in their own premises as schools and colleges are opened and patients will not be able to be accommodated in such places.
A senior civic body official told IANS: "In the past 15 days, areas like Mahalingapuram and Nungambakkam have seen rising COVID-19 clusters and therefore COVID-care centres will be reopened."
There were reports that private hospitals were referring all people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in home quarantine. According to GCC, this has led to entire families testing positive which has prompted it to intervene in the matter and communicate it to the private hospitals.
A GCC official said: "If people above 50 years are placed under home quarantine, the complications will be more and if treated in a hospital, this can be easily overcome and the patient treated properly."
The Chennai civic body has written letters to private hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients in the hospitals during quarantine to prevent COVID-19 from cross-spreading among family members.
Gagan Singh Bedi, GCC Commissioner, in a letter to private hospitals said if the hospitals discharge COVID-19 patients before the end of the quarantine period, they must inform the civic body so that effective home quarantine is implemented.
The GCC has directed private hospitals to report to the civic body on those people being treated for COVID-like symptoms.