Countries struggling, but Covid-19 under control in Tamil Nadu: Health minister

TRICHY: Asking people not to panic owing to the increasing number of people testing positive for Covid-19, health minister C Vijaya Baskar has reiterated the government’s claim that there is no community transmission in Tamil Nadu and that the spread is under control.
Speaking after a review meeting with health officials in Pudukottai on Sunday, he asked people to remain cautious and support health workers in the fight against the pandemic.
“Tamil Nadu is testing more people than any other state in the country and positive cases are under control. While cases in Chennai are high, people need not panic. At the same time, they should be cautious and follow directions from the state government,” he said. “While developed countries are struggling to contain Covid-19 spread, Tamil Nadu has kept it under check,” he added.
He said Remdesivir and Tocilizumab are available at all government medical college hospitals in the state, and urged people recovering from the disease to come forward and donate plasma.
In Pudukottai, 1,708 beds have been kept as standby in hospitals and an additional 5,008 have been set up in Covid-19 care centres to accommodate asymptomatic patients.
Meanwhile, Dr B Sudharshan, a community medicine expert at Velammal Hospitals in Madurai, said that community spread could not be completely ruled out.
“TOI has reported that 40% of the cases in Madurai did not have a contact, this could be an indication of community spread,” he added.