The government of Tamil Nadu has started identifying public spaces and facilities that can house mild and moderate COVID-19 patients.
According to a report, over 70% of the total number of COVID-19 patients in the state are mild and moderate and hence need to be accommodated in COVID health and care centres. This strategy has been devised so that hospital beds can be allocated for those with severe COVID-19.
A panel headed by secretaries of the Highways and Public Works departments are engaged in an attempt to identify such places that can house COVID patients who require lighter course of treatment. The treatment for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu is based on the severity of the infection in a patient -- severe cases of COVID-19 are admitted to hospitals while moderate cases of the disease are sent to COVID-19 health centres. Mild cases of COVID-19 are treated at care centres while asymptomatic patients are treated at their own houses with strict isolation and home quarantine measures.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has called for a cabinet meeting on Monday to discuss various important issues around the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state. Decisions related to the strategy to be adopted to tackle Chennai’s increasing COVID-19 cases are expected to be taken on Monday. This meeting comes ahead of the meeting scheduled by the Prime Minister with the chief ministers of all the states on Wednesday. On Monday, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will also meet with the 19-member expert medical team at the Secretariat to discuss the COVID situation in the state.
As of Sunday, Tamil Nadu has 19,676 active cases of COVID-19 and the total number of positive cases reported in the state is 44,661. A total of 24,547 COVID-19 patients have been discharged till Sunday evening after recovery while 435 patients have succumbed to the illness. The state has also tested over 7.10 lakh samples as of Sunday. Of the 1,974 new COVID-19 cases reported on Sunday, 1,415 cases were from Chennai alone. Chengalpattu saw 178 new cases while Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur accounted for 32 and 81 new cases on Sunday.