Chennai to have 100-bed centres with oxygen support in 3 regions

Amid spiralling coronavirus cases, the Greater Chennai Corporation has decided to roll out "oxygen parlours" for Covid patients across three regions of the city.

Each region will have a 100-bed hospital with oxygen facilities. This will be for people who have breathing difficulty and whose oxygen saturation is between 90-92, and need oxygen support.

Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner Gagan Singh Bedi has said that the corporation has already ordered for oxygen concentrators and 2,700 of them will reach the city soon.

The Chennai corporation has also made some changes regarding the RT-PCR tests and the report of the test will not be given directly to positive patients.

Doctors will first check the blood pressure, oxygen saturation and respiration rate of the patient. Based on these parameters doctors and medics will decide whether the patient needs home isolation or treatment at a hospital.

The corporation will also provide a medical kit immediately to all patients who are undergoing an RT-PCR test with symptoms of fever, loose motion, loss of smell and taste and body pain.

According to officials, this is to ensure that the patient isn't left unattended till the arrival of the results of RT PCR. Thirty thousand such medical kits have already been made ready.

The Chennai Corporation Commissioner said, "This method is to ensure that positive patients are not venturing out and spreading the disease even unknowingly."

The city has reported over 7,000 fresh Covid cases on Tuesday.

Chennai is also slated to receive at least 3500 oxygen concentrators from Singapore and China.

The city has already received 300 oxygen concentrators from Singapore, provided by the state government, corporation commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi said. The Corporation is also speeding up the process of installing oxygen beds in Chennai’s hospitals.

According to reports, 80 oxygen concentrators would be installed at the Communicable Diseases Hospital in Tondiarpet, 50 at the Stanley Medical College Hospital, 33 at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, 40 at the Meenakshi Engineering college and 50 at the King Institute in Guindy. Forty concentrators would be set up at the Chennai trade centre. The corporation will also shift COVID-19 patients who are not very ill to the Chennai Trade Centre next week.